Pineapple and Lemongrass Chicken Curry
Check out this healthy and hearty pineapple and lemongrass chicken with a coconut peanut curry sauce created by Melie's Kitchen!
Ingredients
Lemongrass Curry Paste:
4 fat cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 red chilli, deseeded & roughly chopped
1 small shallot, peeled & roughly chopped
1 thumb ginger, roughly chopped
2 small stalks lemongrass, outer layer removed & roughly chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, stem removed
1 Tbsp each fish sauce & caster sugar
1 tsp each curry powder & turmeric
¼ tsp each cumin seeds, ground black pepper & ground cinnamon
Chicken Curry:
6x bone-in, skin-on free-range chicken thighs
½ ripe Dole pineapple, skin removed
300ml full-fat Kara coconut milk
1 heaped Tbsp smooth peanut butter
Juice of ½ lime (about 1 Tbsp)
1 tsp each fish sauce & caster sugar
To Serve: cooked rice, lime wedges, mint, coriander, cucumber, red onion, baby cos lettuce & chili oil
Method
Preheat your oven to 210°C fan bake.
Make curry paste: add all the curry paste ingredients to a mini food processor, along with 1 tsp table salt & 2
Tbsp olive oil. Blitz for about 2 minutes, until it is a smooth paste. Set aside.
Roast chicken & pineapple: pat chicken dry and cut pineapple into 2cm chunks (remove the tough pineapple
core first). Add chicken and pineapple to a large bowl and season lightly with salt. Add half of the curry paste
and 1 Tbsp olive oil to the bowl and toss to coat the chicken and pineapple. Arrange chicken, skin side up, in a
small roasting dish. Arrange pineapple around the chicken (it should be nice and snug). Roast for about 45-55
minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is crispy and charred. Baste the chicken with the
juices from the roasting dish roughly halfway through the cook time. Set chicken aside to rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the sauce: heat a medium saucepan on medium heat. Cook curry paste for about 1 minute,
stirring constantly, until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, lime juice, fish sauce, and sugar. Stir and
bring to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce heat to low and simmer for a further 8-10 minutes, until thickened
and glossy. Strain the sauce through a sieve to remove the fibrous bits from the curry paste. Stir some of the
roasted chicken resting juices through the sauce (I poured off and discarded some of the chicken fat first).
To finish: while the chicken cooks, cook rice according to packet instructions. Pick herbs, cut lime into
wedges, peel cucumber into ribbons, slice red onion, and pick lettuce leaves.
Serve the chicken & pineapple with rice, sauce, veggies, herbs and chili oil inside the lettuce cups.