Vietnamese Coconut Chicken Curry (Cà Ri Gà)

Every country has its own curry, but I, a full-fledged Vietnamese, am not biased at all when I say that the Vietnamese curry is the best one there is. It's not too pungent in spices that it’s overpowering and it's not too thick.

What is Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Cà Ri Gà)

Vietnamese chicken curry or cà ri gà is a warm and delicious bowl of tender chicken and potatoes stewed in a rich and creamy yellow coconut curry broth. It’s traditionally eaten three ways: ladled over steamed rice, rice noodles, or serve on the side with a toasty baguette for dipping.

Chicken

You can use any cuts of chicken you like for this curry recipe.

For a simple and quick curry, use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. This is a great option for kids.

For a more affordable version, use chicken drumsticks. They are much cheaper than any other cuts of chicken.

Chicken breasts are good but will likely to be dry. Reduce the cooking time to prevent dryness. Alternatively, add other cuts of chicken when using breasts for better results.

Sometimes I like to hack up a whole chicken with bones, innards, and all. This provides great flavor and everyone gets to pick their favorite part. It’s best to cut up chicken when it’s partially frozen. This prevents shards of bones in the meat. Of course, a sharp butcher knife and focused Kung Fu strikes are always helpful. Be mindful of those fingers.

Cut up the chicken into bite-size pieces. This way you don’t have to marinate the chicken for a long time, or at all. The small pieces of chicken soak up all flavors while simmering. For large pieces like chicken drumsticks, allow a few hours to marinate or in the fridge overnight for better results.

cleaning chicken with salt — Cleaning chicken (optional). I scrap off these yellow thingamajig at the end of the drumsticks then give them a good rub down with coarse sea salt. This removes any lingering smell and any slimy surface residue. Rinse under cold water and chicken is ready to go.

Yellow Curry Powder

I’m using madras curry powder by Kim Tu Thap. This curry powder has a blend of turmeric and other spices that are not listed individually on the label. Turmeric is the spice that provides a vibrant yellow color. I presume the other spices are ground mustard seeds, cumin, and cayenne, among others.

Keep in mind that madras curry powder is a bit spicy, but my kids are able to eat it with some carbs, such as rice or baguette to take away some of the heat.

For those who don’t like spicy, consider regular yellow curry powder.

kim tu thap yellow curry powder — The yellow curry spice blend I’m using

Aromatics

The aromatics in this dish are shallots, garlic, lemongrass, and lime/lemon leaves.

I grow lemongrass at home but you can fresh or frozen at your local Asian grocery store. For the fresh ones, discard the jaggy leafy tops and finely mince up the tender bottom white-green stalk. You can also get ready-to-go minced lemongrass in the freezer aisle.

Vietnamese curry chicken ingredients — Curry broth: coconut milk, minced lemongrass, shallots, garlic, water, lemon leaves and oil

Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is a must for all curry recipes. It gives the broth a creamy richness and coconut flavor that rounds out the spices. Add coconut milk towards the end of cooking to preserve its richness and flavor.

Potatoes and Other Tubers

You can use just potatoes or a combination of russet potatoes, sweet potatoes, and carrots.

Potatoes cook up quickly so dice them up twice the size of the carrots. This way they both finish cooking at the same time.

Some people take the extra step of frying the potatoes before adding them to the stew. This is to sear the outside to prevent them from breaking apart in the curry. I like to keep this simple and not dirty up another pan so I skip the frying step entirely. To prevent the potatoes from overcooking and breaking apart, simply add them to the stew towards the end of cooking.

Seasonings for Curry Broth

The broth gets a lot of flavor from the marinated chicken. To finish the broth, I season to taste with fish sauce, a bit of fine sea salt, and granulated sugar.

My go-to fish sauce is Viet Huong’s Three Crabs brand, as pictured below. If you use other brands, keep in mind that the level of saltiness will vary.

Seasonings for curry broth: sugar, salt and fish sauce

Garnish (Optional)

Garnish the curry with thinly sliced fresh cilantro. For those who don’t like cilantro, you can use green onions instead. I love the smell of citrus leaves with curry so I like to use either lemon or lime leaves. Sometimes I leave them whole or cut them up into thin slivers. The citrus leaves are for aroma only and are not recommended to eat, as they can be woody.