Chicken meatballs in red curry and coconut
Red curry paste, not curry powder. It is made from chiles, lemongrass, garlic and shrimp paste, and it is why this tastes like something.
At a Glance
Story
Most people who say they dislike curry are describing curry powder, which is a British invention and a blend of dry ground spices led by turmeric. Red curry paste is a different thing entirely: fresh chiles, lemongrass, galangal, garlic and shrimp paste pounded wet. One tastes of the spice drawer and the other of a market, and swapping one for the other is not a substitution.
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 3 tbsp red curry paste
- 1 bell pepperthinly sliced
- 1 × 13.5 oz can coconut milk
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp fish sauce
- 1 limejuiced
- 3 cups baby spinach
- cilantrochopped, half in and half over
- neutral oilsalt
Method
Adapted from Caroline Chambers. A tablespoon of the curry paste goes into the meatball mix itself rather than only into the sauce, which is the difference between meatballs sitting in a curry and meatballs that are part of it.
- Slice the pepper and finely chop the cilantro.
- In a bowl, combine the chicken, half the cilantro, the panko, the egg, 1 tablespoon of the paste and 1 teaspoon salt. Mix with your hands, then roll about 30 small meatballs, using a tablespoon to keep them even.
- Warm 1 tablespoon of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Brown the meatballs all over in two batches so they are not crowded, 2 to 3 minutes a side, then lift them onto a plate. They will not be cooked through yet.
- More oil into the pan, then the pepper. 3 to 4 minutes, until softened. The remaining 2 tablespoons of curry paste in, stirring constantly, 30 seconds, until the color deepens and it begins to catch. Coconut milk, stock, soy sauce, fish sauce and lime juice in, and bring it up to a boil.
- Down to medium. Meatballs back in and cook 4 to 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and they are cooked through. Spinach in by the handful, tearing it, and another 2 to 3 minutes until it wilts.
- The rest of the cilantro over the top.
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