A Cantonese comfort dish: Hong Kong Curry Chicken is a thick curry filled with spices, potatoes, lemongrass, and coconut milk.
The main ingredients for the hong kong curry chicken are: spices, turmeric, potatoes, lemongrass, evaporated milk, and coconut milk.
This post is all about Hong Kong Curry Chicken.
Hong Kong Style
In Hong Kong, curry is called 港式咖喱雞（Cantonese: gong sik ga lay gai). From all the different versions of curry I’ve taste, Hong Kong curry is on the mild version.
Though Hong Kong curry is mild, it is still super tasty with hints of lemongrass and coconut cream. I would say its the tropical getaway in the curry world. The lemongrass gives a citrus lift, and the island flavour of the coconut cream adds a tropical creaminess to the crowd of flavour. It’s no wonder curry plays a strong role in Cantonese curry recipe.
Even though you’ve never visited Hong Kong or live there, you can still find Hong Kong style curry anywhere else with a huge Chinese community. At Asian cafeteria, fast food stores, restaurants, and especially at Hong Kong cafe restaurant. Besides the variety of curry you can find you can also find variety of meat like chicken or beef (called 港式咖哩牛腩). Vegetarian is also an option.
Like all the different versions of curry you can find in the world, the difference is in the spice blend. If you’re in the Hong Kong area, I’ve heard Choi Hop Lee 財合利 in Hong Kong (Wanchai) is the place to find Hong Kong flavour – they make their Hong Kong curry powder and Hong Kong curry paste.
History of Hong Kong and Curry
When you travel to Hong Kong, you will find various of different people from different parts of the world. Once upon a time, Hong Kong was renowned as the financial hub in Asian. And there you’ll find various different people on that small island. And if you look closer, you’ll find a huge community of Indians living in Hong Kong.
During the Hong Kong colonial years, the British government mobilized many Indian and Nepalese soldiers to Hong Kong. They brought over their food and spices and begun the curry expansion in Hong Kong. It became popular to serve curry in restaurants to cater to the new community of people in Hong Kong.
Though originally the traditional curry brought over by Indians were strong in flavour, Hong Kong mellowed the flavour down and made it sweeter to fit the palette of locals. They used coconut cream to help cut the spice from the curry, and incorporated Malaysian curry paste into their food as it is more adaptable and favoured more for the people in Hong Kong.
Ingredients
Curry
There are many different kinds of curry out there. Each country in Asia has their own flavour, spicy combinations, and heat level when it comes to curry. For me I like to use Madras Curry Powder. The flavour is more Chinese than Indian.
If not just your regular brand curry powder works too.
Lemongrass
Using lemongrass in curry is a Malaysian style of curry. Hong Kongers love the taste of Malaysian food. so lemongrass in the curry is a common ingredient. Lemongrass also gives off the tropical vibe, and it really brings a vibrant taste to it.
Evaporated Milk
This is a secret weapon ingredient. Back in the days, many cooks (my grandfather included) add evaporated milk into the curry for some dairy sweetness. Not too much, but to balance out the spice and salt. Gives the curry more depth in flavour.
Coconut Cream
The thickness of the coconut cream makes the sauce less watery. Not to mention the flavour of coconut adds sweetness to counteract the strong spices in the curry creating a balance palette. Coconut cream not not need to be cooked. Always add coconut cream when the dish is almost done.
Professional tips to get your curry tasting like real Hong Kong Style Cafe
Pro Tip #1 - Fry the potatoes
I love frying the potatoes before adding it to the curry. All Hong Kong curry has potatoes in the curry – its a must. I’ve tried not frying it and the potatoes tend to break up into starchy clumps. Frying the potatoes help hold the potato together in the stew, and not turn the curry too starchy thick.
Pro Tip #2 - Make the roux
Roux is a cooked mixture of flour and fat. Roux is important for the Hong Kong Curry Recipe because it's how we will thicken the soup. Normally French style cooking the fat is butter. In Hong Kong butter and milk are hard to come by products so most of the time cooking oil is used.
Pro Tip #3 - Do not boil the evaporated milk and coconut cream
Evaporated milk and coconut cream should not reach boiling point. That is why these two ingredients are left till the very end. It is meant to offset the strong spice flavour and balance the flavour.
Why you'll love this recipe
- Irresistibly delicious - this curry has lemongrass, turmeric, onion, and coconut milk. It has all the tropical sweet and savoury taste that is mouthwatering. The smell of the curry is not strong, but soft and tropical.
- Easy to make - saute the onion, add the marinated chicken, and let it simmer in chicken stock. The last 5 minutes of cooking add in the coconut milk. Sounds easy? Because it is!
- Still taste great the next day - some food is best served that day, but this curry is great the next day. Reheat and serve. You won't even know its left over.
Hong Kong Style Curry
Ingredients
Chicken Marinate
- 1 whole chicken organic, free ranged
- 2 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp salt
Curry
- ½ cup oil
- 4-5 medium sized potatoes cut into medium size knobs
- ½ white onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves grated
- 5 shallots chopped
- 1 thumb-sized ginger sliced into thick slices
- 3 red eye chili / red chili sliced
- 2 tbsp Hong Kong curry powder / curry powder
- 3 tbsp reserved oil
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 lemongrass stalks
- ½ cup water / chicken stock
- ½ cup coconut cream
- ½ cup evaporated milk
- 2 TSP sea salt
Instructions
- Clean the inside and outside of the chicken. Pat dry. Cut the chicken into pieces. Separate the wings, legs, and breast. I like to debone the chicken and freeze the carcass for chicken soup later in the future. Marinate the chicken in salt. Let it sit in the fridge.
- In a large wok, add the 1/2 oil. When the wok is hot with add the potatoes and fry for about 5-8 minutes, or until you see the edges slightly brown. Place them on a plate with a paper towel.
- With the same oil in the wok, use only 3 tbsp of oil and reserve the rest.Add the the onion, garlic and shallots. When the onion is soften, add the ginger, chili, curry powder and turmeric. Fry until aromatic (3-5 minutes).
- Add the chicken pieces and fry until the skin has color. Remember to stir constantly so it doesn’t stick to the bottom.
- Once all the chicken is slightly browned, remove everything on a plate.
- On the same pan, add in 3 tbsp of the reserve oil. Add the flour into the pan and fry until fragrant. DO NOT walk away from this step.
- Once the flour is brown, take out your whisk and start to stir the flour around. Add the chicken stock while whisking the flour. Try to break up the flour in the chicken stock. You should not see any flour clumps at this point.
- Add the chicken back on to the pan, along with the lemongrass. Simmer on medium heat for 20-25 minutes.
- For the last 5 minutes, add the evaporated milk, coconut milk, and salt to taste. Let it simmer on low for 5 minutes. Do not let it boil.
- Serve with warm jasmine rice.