Vietnamese Chicken Curry With Squash | Cà Ri Gà Bí

As well as recipes that we might think of as uniquely Vietnamese, Uyen Luu’s new cookbook Vietnamese also includes popular dishes that make use of ingredients and inspiration from other countries around the world. In this case, the mild curry powder gives a nod to Indian flavours, whilst ingredients such as lemongrass and fish sauce give a Vietnamese twist.

To find out more about Uyen Luu’s Vietnamese cookbook, read our full review.

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Chicken Curry With Squash (Cà Ri Gà Bí)

This is a mild, slurpy curry, meant to be dipped and mopped up with crispy Vietnamese baguettes or steamed rice. You can add different vegetables to the curry towards the end of cooking, depending on what’s in season. Even frozen peas, cooked for a couple of minutes at the end, are a delight. You can also use chicken breast. As with most Vietnamese food, make it as hot as you like and feel free to add fresh chilli or chilli flakes to the curry.

Author Uyen Luu

Ingredients

• 40 g 1½ oz ginger root, roughly chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 round shallots, roughly diced
• 500-600 g (1 lb 2 oz–1 lb 6 oz) chicken thighs, de-boned and excess fat removed, skin on, cut into large bite-sized pieces
• 3 tsp Vietnamese or mild curry powder
• 400 ml (13 fl oz/generous 1½ cups) coconut milk
• 100 ml (2½ fl oz/scant ½ cup) water
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 400 g (14 oz) potatoes, cut into 2 cm (¾ in) cubes
• 600 g (1 lb 5 oz) Delicata squash, cut into 4 cm (1½ in) chunks
• 50 g (2 oz) mangetout (snow peas), sliced, or green garden peas (optional)
• 1½ tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar or maple syrup
• freshly ground black pepper

Notes

Butternut squash is a good alternative for Delicata squash.

As Uyen suggests, the wet and sloppy sauce is perfect for enjoying with rice or mopping up with bread. This is a wonderfully mild curry (though you can add a chilli kick if you want) and very warming on a cold day.

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Recipe published with permission from Hardie Grant. Kavey Eats received a review copy of Vietnamese: Simple Vietnamese Food to Cook at Home by Uyen Luu.