Recipes

Roasted Chicken Curry with Longan Fruit

Kaeng Ped Gai Yang sai Lum Yai

Broiled chicken thighs simmered in red curry with longan fruit, pineapple, and eggplant

Prep

10 min

Cook

60 min

Serves

4

Heat

medium

This curry stands out from more familiar red curries largely because of one ingredient: longan, a northern Thai fruit with firm, translucent flesh and a delicate, faintly citrus sweetness. Chicken thighs get broiled skin-side up until deeply browned before ever touching the curry, so the crisp skin has a head start and can hold some texture as it simmers in a red curry and coconut sauce that reduces down to a thick gravy. Longan, pineapple, and two kinds of eggplant go in near the end, followed by a generous handful of basil stirred in off the heat, rounding the curry out with sweetness and herbal brightness against the richness of the chicken and sauce.

Ingredients

• 5 Chicken thighs, large, skin on (scored along the bone to help it cook faster)
• 2 3/4 tablespoons Light soy sauce (for marinating the chicken)
• 23 pieces Longan (peeled and pitted)
• 2/3 cup Pineapple (cut into small bite-sized pieces)
• 2/3 cup Pea eggplant (stems removed)
• 5 Thai eggplants (quartered, held in salted water)
• 1-2 Thai long chili (sliced diagonally)
• 7 Kaffir lime leaves (torn, center stems removed)
• 1 1/3 cups Thai sweet basil (leaves and flower tops)
• 2 3/4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
• 1 1/3 cups Coconut milk
• 2 3/4 tablespoons Coconut sugar
• 2 teaspoons Fish sauce (to taste)
• 1 1/3 cups Chicken or vegetable stock

Directions

1. Score the chicken thighs along both sides of the bone and partway through the meat to help the curry flavors penetrate and speed up cooking. Marinate in the light soy sauce for about 15 minutes.
2. Quarter the Thai eggplant and hold in salted water. Tear the kaffir lime leaves, slice the chili, cut the pineapple into bite-sized pieces, clean the pea eggplant, and pick the basil. Peel and pit the longan.
3. Broil the chicken thighs skin side up at 450F/230C for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden brown and crispy. It doesn't need to be fully cooked yet — it will finish simmering in the curry.
4. Heat a little oil in a large lidded pan over low heat. Add the curry paste and fry, stirring, for about 2 minutes until smooth and fragrant. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer gently for about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the coconut sugar until dissolved, then add the stock.
6. Lay the broiled chicken skin side down in the curry and bring to a boil over medium heat for about a minute, then turn skin side up and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes.
7. Add the kaffir lime pieces. Baste the chicken with sauce every few minutes and continue simmering for about 20 minutes, until the sauce reduces by about half into a thick gravy, adding a little water if it reduces too far.
8. Taste and season with fish sauce as needed — some curry pastes are salty enough on their own. Add the Thai eggplant, pea eggplant, pineapple, and longan, stirring gently to coat. Cover and cook about 5 minutes.
9. Turn off the heat and stir in the basil until just wilted. Let the curry rest about 10 minutes before serving.
10. Serve a piece of chicken per portion with plenty of sauce and fruit, or present it all on a platter family-style. Garnish with sliced red chili and basil tops, and serve with steamed rice.

Notes

Keep the chicken skin side down only briefly when it first goes into the curry — too long and the crisp skin you built under the broiler turns soft before it's had a chance to hold its texture.

Substitutions

Canned longan, drained and rinsed of syrup, works well when fresh isn't in season. Purple Japanese eggplant can substitute for Thai eggplant.