• Recipe by Neil Roake 

    Vietnamese chicken, sweet potato and butternut ‘cari’

    Serves: 4 – 6
    Cooking Time: 1 hour

    Ingredients

    • Vietnamese star anise ‘cari’ powder
    • 10 curry leaves
    • 2 star anise
    • 1 dry red chilli
    • 5ml (1 tsp) black peppercorns
    • 60ml (¼ cup) coriander seeds
    • 10ml (2 tsp) cumin
    • 8 cloves
    • 15ml (1 tbsp) ground turmeric
    • 5ml (1 tsp) ground ginger
    • 5ml (1 tsp) nutmeg, freshly grated
    • 2,5ml (½ tsp) ground cinnamon
    • Caramel

    • 45ml (3 tbsp) white sugar
    • 120ml water
    • ‘Cari’

    • 500g (about 3) sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 3cm slices
    • 1,5kg butternut, chopped into 4cm chunks
    • 30ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
    • 4 x 150g chicken breasts, cut into 3cm slices
    • 30ml (2 tbsp) sesame oil
    • 1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
    • 10ml (2 tsp) garlic, peeled and finely chopped
    • 2 lemongrass sticks, bashed and tied together
    • 10ml (2 tsp) dried chilli flakes (optional)
    • 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
    • 400ml water
    • 45ml (3 tbsp) fish sauce
    • handful fresh coriander
    • sticky rice, to serve
    • 50g raw flaked almonds, toasted, to serve

    Instructions

    1

    Preheat the oven to 180°C.

    2

    For the ‘cari’ powder, dry-fry the curry leaves, star anise, chilli, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin and cloves over low heat until toasted and fragrant, shaking the pan as you fry, 1 – 2 minutes. Transfer this to a spice blender or a pestle and mortar and blitz or grind. Tip into a screw-top bottle, add the remaining powdered spices and shake until combined. Set aside.

    3

    For the caramel, add the sugar and water to a small frying pan over medium heat and cook until the sugar has melted and turns golden brown. Watch it like a hawk, as it can burn very fast.

    4

    For the cari, toss the sweet potatoes and butternut chunks in the olive oil. Place in a roasting dish and cook in the oven, 40 – 45 minutes. Toss halfway through the cooking time to ensure even caramelisation around the edges. Remove from oven and set aside.

    5

    Coat the chicken in 25ml ‘cari’ powder mixture and set aside. Add the sesame oil, onion, garlic, lemongrass and chilli flakes to a large pot and stir-fry over medium heat, 3 – 4 minutes, ensuring it does not burn. Add the chicken and stir-fry until golden brown on the edges. Add the coconut milk, water and caramel, reduce the heat and simmer, 15 minutes. Stir gently and taste.

    6

    Add the roasted butternut and sweet potatoes and stir gently. You should notice it tastes a little bland, but, now you add the secret ingredient – the fish sauce! Kapow! Your taste buds explode and you can taste the saltiness of the fish sauce, the sweetness of the caramel and it all comes together.

    7

    Just before serving, stir in half the coriander and let this wilt. Pour into a serving dish and sprinkle over the remaining coriander to garnish. Serve with sticky rice and top with toasted almonds.

     

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