Kyet Thar Hin — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A deeply aromatic chicken curry cooked low and slow with onions, tomatoes, ginger, and a blend of Burmese spices until the oil rises to the surface. This home-cooking staple is served with steamed rice at nearly every Burmese family table.

Ingredients

800g chicken pieces, bone-in
4 large onions, pureed
3 tomatoes, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
3cm ginger, grated
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon paprika
3 tablespoons fish sauce
100ml vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
Fresh cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1 Marinate chicken pieces with turmeric, salt, and half the fish sauce for at least fifteen minutes.
2 Heat oil in a heavy pot and cook the onion puree over medium heat for twenty minutes, stirring frequently, until deep golden and the oil begins to separate.
3 Add garlic, ginger, and paprika to the onions and fry for three minutes until intensely fragrant.
4 Add the marinated chicken pieces and sear on all sides, coating them in the aromatic onion base.
5 Add chopped tomatoes, bay leaves, lemongrass, and remaining fish sauce, then cover and simmer on low heat for thirty minutes until the chicken is tender and the oil floats on the surface.
6 Remove bay leaves and lemongrass, adjust seasoning, and serve with steamed rice, garnished with fresh cilantro.

Did You Know?

In Burmese cooking, a curry is considered properly done when the oil si seh rises to float on the surface, indicating the onions and spices have been cooked long enough to release their full flavor.