Tom Kerridge’s peanut butter chicken curry
I’ve used spicy peanut sauce as my inspiration for this curry. It’s obvious why one-pot recipes are popular: they’re easy on the washing-up, and are simple to follow, as you’ve only got one pan to focus on. The thing that really sells them to me, though, is that all the ingredients play a role, and the dish becomes greater than the sum of its parts.
Serves 6 Prep 20 mins plus at least 30 mins marinating and resting
Cook 1 hr 10 mins
1.5kg bone-in chicken pieces
6 garlic cloves, 2 finely chopped,
4 left whole
3 lemongrass stalks, bashed and
roughly chopped thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and
finely chopped
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground turmeric
2 limes, juiced
2 red chillies, 1 roughly chopped and
1 sliced to serve (optional)
1 small onion, roughly chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
100g smooth peanut butter
4 tbsp kecap manis, or 3 tbsp soy sauce mixed with 1 tbsp light brown soft sugar
400g can coconut milk
TO SERVE a few chopped spring onions, small handful of chopped coriander, small handful of roughly chopped roasted peanuts (optional)
1 Put the chicken, chopped garlic, a third of the lemongrass and half the ginger, spices and lime juice in a large bowl. Toss, then cover and leave for 30 mins, or put in the fridge to marinate for up to 24 hrs. Blitz the whole garlic with the rest of the lemongrass and ginger, the remaining spices, chopped chilli, onion and a large splash of water in a food processor. Set aside.
2 Heat the oil in a pan and brown the chicken all over. Set aside on a plate. Cook the paste for 8-10 mins until it splits. Stir in the peanut butter and kecap manis. When thickened, add the coconut milk and half a can of water, bring to a simmer, season, then add the chicken with its juices.
3 Continue to simmer for 40 mins, stirring often. Turn off the heat, add the rest of the lime juice and season. Rest for 10 mins. Scatter over the sliced chilli, spring onions, fresh coriander and peanuts to serve.
PER SERVING 517 kcals, fat 39g, saturates 16g,
carbs 7g, sugars 4g, fibre 2g, protein 34g, salt 0.4g