Apologies to the village chicken

Hands up, who likes Malaysian food?  I love it.  Peanut satay, nyonya chicken (a kind of Malay-Chinese mixed style), vege laksa with deep-fried tofu pieces, Malay-Indian curries.  They're all good. 

Reading a Simon Holst recipe book yesterday (I know he's not maybe as cool and current as some other celeb cooks, but seriously - good recipes and easy to follow, without too many random ingredients, so give him and his Ma a second glance).  After noting a couple of recipes which had been recommended I perchanced along a recipe for 'Malay-style chicken curry'.  Well, waste NO more time on introductions - I'm there!! 

So, after spending Easter Monday sitting in the 26 degree sunshine (goooooo indian summer!) at Pukekura Park watching my nephew play cricket, came home and gave it a shot.  As promised by Simon, it was really easy to throw together.  The star anise and cinnamon sticks were the only things we didn't have in the cupboard already, so not too bank-breaking either.  I'll be making this one again, and again, and again.  It was GOOD!!  It should have a decent bit of sauce on it, so make sure you've plenty of rice (I was a bit skimpy on the ol' rice, so speak from experience).  Nom nom nom. 

Malay-style chicken curry

1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
2 cm piece ginger
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp olive oil
500 g boneless, skinless chicken
3-4 tsps curry powder
6 cm cinnamon stick
1 whole star anise
1 cup coconut milk
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp each sugar and salt
3-4 tbsp chopped coriander

1. Roughly chop garlic, onion, ginger. Blend in food processor with water, to make paste.
2. Heat oil in pan. Cook chicken pieces (cut into manageable-sized pieces) for about 2 minutes per side, or until lightly browned (they needn't be cooked through, at this stage). Remove from pan and set aside.
3. Add onion paste to pan, cooking for 3 minutes, add curry powder, cinnamon and star anise, stirring continuously, for about one more minute. Add all remaining ingredients, except coriander, bring to boil and then simmer for about 10-12 minutes (or until chicken is cooked through and sauce thickened a little). Stir in most of coriander.
4. Serve over rice, sprinkled with remaining coriander, accompanied by steamed vegetables.

Nb: When I made it we were out of fresh coriander. So... I used a couple of tsp dried coriander, to stir through the curry, then sprinkled chopped fresh parsley on top. Absolutely fine. Also, if you can't be bothered steaming veges, just stir some beans, or broccoli etc through the curry too. It will make it less saucy though, which is a bit of a drawback. Up to you. I'm a steamer.