Last Updated on May 2, 2022 by Share My Kitchen
This Choo Chee Curry with Chicken is a popular Thai-Australian fusion recipe that can be made in just 15 minutes. It has an easy curry sauce made with an aromatic Thai red curry, creamy coconut, kaffir lime and a hint of sugar. It’s the perfect midweek meal.
How Long Does This Recipe Take?
Choo Chee Chicken is packed with flavor and can be made in just 15 minutes. You will return for more of that red curry sauce with coconut and red curry infused with kaffir lime. That’s for sure!
What is Choo Chee Curry?
This traditional Thai red curry, Choo chee sauce, is paired with seafood from Thailand. It is also very popularly served with chicken in Adelaide.
This dish is a tribute to its Thai roots as it features a creamy red curry sauce with coconut extract, fresh kaffir lime leaves, palm sugar and fish sauce.
What You’ll Need:
- Red Curry Paste: you may use any panang curry paste, or pre-made Thai red curry paste.
- Coconut Cream: coconut cream is thicker and richer than coconut milk. It is made with four parts of shredded coconut in one portion water and simmered together. You can find coconut cream in your local supermarket or nearest Asian import store, or you can order them online. Coconut milk can be used if coconut cream is not available. However, the coconut cream will make the sauce a little thinner.
- Kaffir Lime leaves: these are a great way to get the classic Choo Chee Chicken flavor. You can source them fresh at your local market, import store, or dried or bottled in the Asian section of your local grocery. You can also buy dried kaffir lime leaves online. Although kaffir lime leaves have a distinctive scent, 1 heaped teaspoon of lemon zest can be substituted for it. Plus, you can add squeezed lime juice.
- Fish Sauce: an essential ingredient that gives Choo Chee Chicken the classic Thai saltiness. You can also find it in most supermarkets, import shops, or online. You can add salt or a teaspoon of soy sauce to make it vegetarian if you prefer to leave the fish sauce out.
- Palm Sugar: this natural sweetener has a mild caramel flavor. But if you don’t have palm sugar, substitute coconut sugar, regular brown sugar or raw sugar.
How to Make Choo Chee Chicken Curry
- Start by heating 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Then fry the chicken quickly in batches, it will turn into a crispy golden brown. Take out from the heat and set aside.
- For the red curry paste, mix it in with 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil then stir. Heat it gently until it’s fragrant. Then stir in the coconut cream and most of the chopped Kaffir lime leaves. The rest can be used as garnish.
- Once the sauce is heated through, turn down the heat and add the fish sauce and grated palm sugar. Then set aside the sauce from the heat.
- Next, get a scoop of cooked rice in a bowl, and then layer it with the chicken. Serve with lots of curry sauce and garnish with finely chopped capsicums and chopped kaffir lime leaves.
- Use a spoon and fork to eat this dish best!
Tips
- It does not matter if you choose chicken, fish, prawns, pork or etc. when making Choo Chee, you can cook the meat separately however you like. The thinly sliced chicken is usually stir-fried, but you can also grill, poach, or steam it, depending on your preference.
- First, separate the leaves and stack them two or three at a time, on top of each other. Then roll up the leaves into a cylindrical shape, and use a sharp knife to slice them finely. It is much easier to cut the kaffir leaves this fashion than to chop them flat.
- For more citrus flavor, it is recommended that the sliced kaffir lime leaves be left in the dish. However, if you don’t like the texture of the leaf because it’s too firm, you can strain the sauce before serving.
- It’s a good sign that the sauce has separated from the oil.
FAQ
Is it possible to prepare Choo Chee Chicken ahead of time?
Choo Chee Chicken should be served immediately after it has been cooked to get the best flavor. But the sauce can be prepared up to a day ahead and poured over the freshly cooked chicken.
Can Choo Chee Chicken be frozen?
Choo Chee Chicken Curry can be frozen. To get the best results, eat within one month of freezing. Coconut milk that has been left in the freezer for too long will be more likely to separate and look grainy.
What can you serve with Choo Chee Chicken?
Choo Chee Chicken can be served with fluffy white rice (jasmine, basmati) for a quick midweek meal.
Variations and Substitutes Of Choo Chee Chicken Curry
- Choo Chee Curry sauce goes well with white fish, shrimps and pork. You can also make it vegetarian by adding tofu, eggplant with bell peppers or enoki mushrooms.
- You can make this vegan by substituting the fish sauce with soy sauce and using vegan red curry paste . To balance the flavor, you might add some salt.
Equipment
- Large skillet (or frying pan)
- Small saucepan
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts sliced into thin flat slices
- 400 ml coconut cream
- 1 ½ tbsp Thai red curry paste (homemade or premade)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp pal sugar (grated)
- 8 to 10 Thai makrut/kaffir lime leaves finely sliced (or 1 to 2 tbsp dried kaffir lime leaves)
- ¼ capsicum or bell pepper finely slice (to garnish)
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil (2 x 2 tbsp portions)
- Cooked white rice (to serve)
