Recipe: Raymond Tan Taught Himself How to Bake – but This Chicken Curry Is His Mum’s

Pandan chiffon cake. Banana milk flan. Matcha tiramisu. You’re Welcome, the debut cookbook from self-taught Melbourne baker Raymond Tan and Broadsheet editor Audrey Payne, is all about stylish, confident baking with Southeast Asian flair.

But while the sweet stuff is what Tan is famous for, the savoury recipes in the book could be sleeper hits. This one, for Malaysian curry, belongs to Tan’s mum – who found it hard to believe her son was giving up his corporate accounting job to teach baking full-time just a few short years ago.

If you’re like me and sometimes treat curry and makrut lime leaves as nice-to-haves, Tan says they’re essential to nailing this recipe. Also: choose your paste wisely. “You can use any brand, but A1 Instant Curry Paste is what most people use back home,” writes Tan. “It’s the one I choose when I have the option because I find it has just the right level of spiciness and is a very vibrant red colour.”

Tan loves eating his mum’s curry with rice or fried bee hoon, Hokkien rice vermicelli, “but it’s also perfect for dipping roti jala, or as a filling in curry buns.”

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Raymond Tan’s Malaysian chicken curry 

Serves 4–6
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 packet (230g) instant chicken or meat curry paste
8 shallots, diced
8 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
15g piece ginger (about 3cm), peeled and cut into julienne
6 birdseye chillies, sliced
1kg boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
4 large potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
10g fresh curry leaves
300ml coconut milk
25g caster sugar
Sea salt and finely ground white pepper, to taste
4 makrut lime leaves, cut into thin strips
Steamed rice, to serve

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 2 minutes. If the paste catches, add a few tablespoons of water to stop it from sticking and burning.

Add the eschalot, garlic, ginger and chilli and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots have softened, 3–4 minutes.

Add the chicken, soy sauce and fish sauce. Stir to coat the chicken with the paste well, then cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Add just enough water to cover the chicken and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer, add the potato and curry leaves and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes or until the chicken is tender and the potato is just cooked through.

Stir in the coconut milk, bring to the boil, then stir in the sugar and season to taste.

Turn off the heat and garnish with makrut lime leaves and serve with steamed rice.

Notes

Curry will keep refrigerated, in an airtight container, for 2 days, or frozen for a month.

Images and text from You’re Welcome! by Raymond Tan with Audrey Payne, photography by Louise Hagger. Murdoch Books RRP $49.99.