Chicken Curry with Coconut Milk & Sweet Potatoes (or Pumpkin) - Keith Floyd

 

This is a 'Far Flung Floyd', yes Keith Floyd, recipe, fellow Gastronauts - remember how Floyd talks of 'Hector' lovingly, whilst dashing around a kitchen in any country, anywhere with gusto and aplomb, 'So I hear you ask', he'd say and we, well I would, watching agog as he brought food unheard of in Morecambe to my rented Granada television screen, say, Yes tell me'. So inspired were we that my generation, well at least me, ventured to the cooker, previously a female bastion, no disrespect to those with an additional rib, who held court cooked with what they'd learned from their mothers and just to prove it, boiled away cabbage till flavourless. Anyway I digress, as Floyd would say, on with the sketch.

So Floyd is on the roof of a boat in Vietnam, you can view it on you tube, it's an eye opener I tell you, and these are the instructions and surprisingly simple they are dear Hector.

So in a little oil fry some onions till softened, add garlic, then the lemon grass, curry powder (nothing special just a mix bought in) dried chillies, turmeric, lime leaves. Through in your chicken fillets and stir around till thoroughly coated. You kitchen smells wonderful at this moment. 

Next cover with enough chicken stock to cover, bring to a simmer and then add a tin of coconut milk (those small ones they sell at discount shops are fine). Simmer for five minutes then add in small chunks of sweet potato or pumpkin as I did, maybe add some more fresh chilli – if you like it hotter and when the veg is cooked in another ten minutes or so serve.

Bring to the table with maybe sticky rice, and discuss with your expats the difficulties & tribulations of an Englishman abroad in such a climate, how Marmite and Jaffa Cakes are so impossible to obtain, the state of test cricket series, that they can't make decent Hollandaise sauce for eggs Benedict for breakfast, etcetera etcetera