Curry Chicken
A Korean-style dish of chicken and taro fried together, then braised in homemade curry oil. Bright yellow in color, fragrant and mildly spicy, tender without burning.
Ingredients
Tender fat chicken (cleaned, remove head, neck, tail and feet; slice lengthwise along the back into 2 pieces; remove the backbone; then cut through the middle of the legs and breast into 4 pieces total)
1.5 kg
Peeled taro (washed, cut into diamond-shaped pieces)
750 g
Chicken broth
3 kg
Cooking wine
60 g
Fine salt
30 g
MSG (monosodium glutamate)
7 g
White sugar
15 g
Soybean oil (net consumption 150g; 200g for making curry oil, the remainder for frying chicken and taro)
2 kg
Curry oil (homemade: heat soybean oil to 60% hot, add 100g chopped onion and stir-fry, then add 50g garlic paste and 250g curry powder, stir evenly over low heat and mix with water; flour may be added to thicken)
250 g
Scallion segments
50 g
Ginger (sliced)
25 g
Water starch (for thickening)
25 g
Sesame oil (for drizzling)
25 g
Toasted sesame powder (for sprinkling)
25 g
Instructions
1
Make the curry oil
Heat the wok, add 200g soybean oil, and when it reaches 60% hot, add 100g chopped onion. Once fragrant, add 50g garlic paste and 250g curry powder, and stir evenly over low heat. When cooked through, add water and stir to combine with a ladle. If a thicker curry oil is desired, mix an appropriate amount of flour with water, stir into the curry oil, cook through, then transfer to a container and set aside.
2
Prepare the chicken
Clean the tender fat chicken, removing the head, neck, tail and feet. With a knife, slice lengthwise along the back into 2 pieces, remove the backbone, then cut through the middle of the legs and breast into 4 pieces total. Wash the peeled taro and cut into diamond-shaped pieces.
3
Fry the chicken
Heat the wok over high heat, add soybean oil, and when it reaches 70% hot, add the chicken pieces and pass through the oil. Fry until the skin tightens and changes color, then immediately remove with a slotted spoon and drain off the oil.
4
Soak the chicken to prevent discoloration
Take a clean porcelain basin, add an appropriate amount of cold water, then immediately soak the chicken (this prevents the chicken from discoloring in the wind).
5
Fry the taro
Reheat the original wok, and when it reaches 50% hot, add the taro pieces. Fry until light yellow, then remove from heat. Lift out the taro with a slotted spoon and drain off the oil, then pour the remaining oil into an oil container.
6
Braise the chicken
Leave a little soybean oil in the wok, heat, and stir-fry the scallion segments and ginger slices. Add the cooking wine and chicken broth, then immediately lift the chicken pieces out of the water and place them into the pot. Cover, bring to a boil, then reduce to low heat and braise for about 20 minutes. When the chicken is nearly tender, add the fine salt, curry oil, white sugar, and MSG, and braise for another 10 minutes. By now the chicken should be tender and flavorful; remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and place them into a porcelain basin.
7
Braise the taro
Pour the fried taro into the pot with the curry gravy and braise for about 7 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon into another container, then pour the curry chicken gravy into the porcelain container.
8
Portion and store
Once the cooked chicken has cooled, evenly cut it into about 50 pieces. Take 10 clean porcelain bowls, place the taro pieces in them, then arrange the chicken pieces on top in an attractive manner. Add the chicken gravy and store in the refrigerator.
9
Reheat for serving
When serving, remove and reheat, then add a small amount of water starch to thicken, drizzle with a little sesame oil, sprinkle with toasted sesame powder, and serve.
