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Chal Pivik
Yes, agreed. Thai curry paste is worth seeking out, preferably made with kefir lime leaf and shrimp paste. Salmon filet cut into pieces is delicious too. Grating in lime zest makes it maddeningly flavorful. After heat is turned off, squeeze in lime juice and stir in chopped fresh cilantro.
Vinay
To take this up a notch, add ginger, garlic, while you saute the onions. When you add coconut milk, add some red pepper, peppercorn, and if you want it really spicy, some split green chilis. Finally at the end add fresh coriander leaves. Another way to do this is to marinate chicken for an hour or with above spices and some yogurt and lemon. Have fun experimenting.
Mary
For greater depth of flavour, cook the onions till very soft and a little browned, and simmer the coconut milk for a few minutes until it's thicker. Maybe other curry spices instead of just curry powder? Turmeric, cayenne, cumin?
Chris Salmon
I made this using a recipe for curry powder from a 1971 cookbook called "The Grub Bag" by Ita Jones. It makes a slightly sweet curry that my family likes and that works really well in this dish:1/2 tsp. ginger1/2 tsp. cinnamon1/2 tsp. cardamom1 tsp. coriander1 tsp. turmeric1 tsp. cumin2 tsp. chili powderA more purist cook than I am could grind the spices, but I've always used powdered versions and it comes out fine.
Scott
I added about 1 tsp more curry and about 1 tsp cumin - I think I might just be a curry snob but I'd say there's more to curry than to think you can make it "easy." Consider curry paste as an alternative.
Joe
Thanks to readers suggestions, to give the recipe more kick, I added several tablespoons of freshly ground ginger root, several tablespoons of chopped garlic, freshly ground cumin and coriander which I added to the oil to heat up for a few minutes before adding the chopped onion. After the onions were browned, I added several teaspoons of turmeric. We were delighted with the results.
Leslie Talmadge
I love this very simple recipe...it's even better with chopped red peppers.
Jason
Add:1 red bell2-3 cloves garlic mincedSpices use:5 ts curry2 ts garam masala1/8 ts cayenneCook chicken in veggies and spices before adding coconut milk. Used 1 can of coconut milk.
Colin
Thanks for your comments; I like the idea of adding garlic and ginger. But your suggestion to “sous vide or IP the whole thing” meant nothing to me. Using those terms/abbreviations without explanation doesn’t help those of us who are new to cooking or simply not familiar with those techniques (?).
Monica
Disappointingly bland, even though I used a lot more curry powder than the recipe called for. Next time I would add garlic, maybe some ginger, definitely more spices, and I might brown the chicken with the onions and garlic before adding the coconut milk. Also chicken takes much longer to cook than 6 minutes! It was easy to make but not sure it was worth it in the end.
Nancy Newell
Instead of curry powder buy curry paste... Mae Ploy Curry Paste is great to have on hand and comes in several options (yellow, red, green, Massaman etc). Even though I use the paste I start with chopped garlic and fresh ginger, then the onion. This has been one an easy weeknight dish of ours for years. Try the suggested recipe and then experiment from there.
Victoria
This is one of the simplest and most delicious recipes to make.
I used "light" coconut milk, which has 60 percent less fat than regular, and garnished with chopped basil. The recipe, to me, is perfect as is, but, of course, other spices can be added as desired.
Bernard Farrell
I used both curry powder (generic) and Penzey's Garam Masala, one tsp of the latter. Plus about a teaspoon of coconut aminos.As the local supermarket was out of chicken (!) I used a pork roast instead. I used a single Spanish onion and would use two the next time.All of us demolished it in a single sitting. I'd probably add more Garam Masala next time to perk up the flavor more.
Christian
Added red peppers after the onions had cooked down and slightly browned, cooked the onions with two cloves of garlic. Substituted red Thai curry paste for curry powder, and added way more than called for - probably 2.5 tbsp, could have used more. A little turmeric with it, and lime zest and juice as others have suggested. Served over rice noodles. Delicious.
Travis Creston
The best garnish & easy to find is equal parts cilantro, basil & mint. Then top with chopped peanuts!!! Game changer.
Renée
Grated ginger and garlic, plus spinach, chick peas and paneer cheese for a delightful veggie dinner.
TeK
Needs to be spiced up more so definitely add your own spices like a little more curry and maybe even a seven spice mix
kristin.j.g
This is so good for being so fast and easy. I did add about 1 tbsp each of minced garlic and ginger towards the end of cooking the onions. I added some garbanzo beans and a little cayenne pepper and a little coconut aminos. Yum!
Joan Pachner
Delicious but did have to increase spice, as others suggested.Sauteed onion and used 1 T curry, 2 tsp cumin, tumeric, ginger, 2 cloves garlic. After adding coconut milk, added red pepper, and jalapeno (no seeds). Ended up quickly toasting cumin and coriander seeds and grinding some more into the mix, and then toasting some black mustard seeds and tossing them in as well. The final result was really good. Looking forward to leftovers.
Bibi
I would just brown the chicken first. Remove. Do the onions, etc., and add chicken back as instructed.
Cora
I use coconut oil instead of corn or vegetable or canola. More intense coconut flavor and better got you.
FH Cyclist
This is good & easy but like many have said…. Needs more spice. Will try adding ginger and another 1 or 2 tsp of curry powder.
Sandy
Not enough curry. Pan fry the curry first to release flavors.
azh
I added 5 garlic cloves, fresh chopped ginger, cayenne, turmeric, cumin, Garam masala, and way more curry powder both regular and spicy. Still didn’t seem like enough to take this dish to the next level but was decent enough. The cool time on the chicken was not enough, the key is the size you cut the chicken.
KKB
Add japs and a red bell pepper
needs more and sear the chicken!
Must sear chicken advance. Otherwise comes out rubbery from just being boiled in the coconut milk. It was overall kinda bland. Ginger would have been good.
TaiL
This has become a true staple in my home! I agree with other posters that it's nowhere near spicy enough. But it's the quintessential NYTimes Cooking recipe in that it offers the technique and allows you to play once you know what you're doing. I've added lentils, carrots, chicken, tofu, cauliflower, spinach, ready to try shrimp, beef, and all kinds of other delicious ingredients. We add a lot of garlic, extra curry powder (Hot and Vadouvan), and we use Momofuku Chili Crunch, Weeknight heaven.
Kris
Followed some of the comment recs. Added ginger and garlic a few minutes after the onion. Used 2 tbsp Thai green curry paste, about a pound of shrimp (cut in half for kid-friendly bites) and stirred in spinach at the end. Fabulous flavor.
Dianne
My grandson and I loved this! We have a new favorite. I served it over rice with sweet potato on the side. Watermelon and grapes cooled it for dessert. I'll definitely make this again.
Steve Walton
The chicken is not cooked in the first step, and cooks for six minutes in the second step. So the chicken chunks must be already cooked, right?
Powell
No. The chicken is cut into chunks so it will cook in a short period. 3-6 minutes might be right or longer depending of the chicken size, the heat level etc. This is a simple recipe. Good luck.
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