Chicken Pumpkin Curry and Thai Yellow Curry Paste

Making an classic Thai Chicken pumpkin curry with kitchen-made yellow curry paste is easier than you think. Enjoy the aroma as you simmer. Lovely!

We felt like having a bowl of flavorful curry the other day. We haven’t had curry for a long time. So we made chicken pumpkin curry with kitchen-made Thai yellow curry paste.

When we first moved to Buenos Aires, there was a lady from Indonesia living in our neighborhood. It was rare to see SE Asian people in the southern hemisphere and we were hoping to get to know her better. Unfortunately she and her family were getting ready to move back to their home country soon after our family arrived.

She gave us the lemongrass plant that she planted and grew in her backyard. All she said to us was just to plant them where there is plenty of sun, and they will grow by themselves. No need to give extra care. We followed her instructions and voila~! The lemongrass plant grew so tall, they covered our kitchen window half way up.

We pulled a few lemongrass stalks and made yellow curry paste with them. We should have made Indonesian curry paste to tribute the Indonesian lady, but decided to make Thai version first. The Indonesian curry paste will come along soon.

Kitchen-made Thai Yellow Curry Paste

To make Thai yellow curry paste you will need dried red chilies, shallots, garlic, ginger (galangal), lemongrass, and other various spices. We wrapped ginger, garlic, and shallow separately with foil and roasted in a hot oven to get the mellow flavor.

Making kitchen-made yellow curry paste is not difficult at all. We are not a curry expert by any means, but we were able to whip up a decent curry in no time all made from scratch. We are proud of that.

Chicken Pumpkin Curry

Who wouldn’t want a chicken curry made from scratch? The usual partner of chicken in Thai yellow curry is potato but we used pumpkin instead this time. The pumpkin brings mellow and sweet flavor to the curry.

To make the chicken pumpkin curry, you only need chicken, pumpkin, onion, coconut milk and a good Thai yellow curry paste. That’s all. You can add chicken stock if you prefer thinner curry base. We prefer ours thick this time.

Saute the onion until soft, add bite size chicken and pumpkin, then toss with the curry paste. Pour the coconut milk and let it simmer until everything is nice and soft. How unfussy is that?

Our made-from-scratch chicken pumpkin curry with kitchen-made Thai yellow curry paste was served with multi-grain rice. The wholesome meal was unfussy and hearty, our longtime craving of good curry was well taken care of, and we were able to enjoy every bite. It was mellow and almost sweet due to the pumpkin. The recollection of the sweet memory we had in Thailand instantly came back to us as we were savoring the curry. How nice!

The chicken pumpkin curry recipe only uses 1/3 of the curry paste. We like to keep our leftover curry paste in a zip-lock bag first, then put in a container or in a bigger bag before we throw it in a freezer for longer storage life. They can last at least 2 months that way but we think they will be consumed long before then. 🙂

~ the cook

• Yield: 4 people
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 1 hour
• Total: 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 chicken breast half, diced into bite size pieces
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1/2 butternut squash, diced
• 1 tbsp oil
• 14 oz coconut milk
• fish sauce, to taste

For the yellow curry paste

• 4 lemongrass stalks, white and pale green parts only, sliced
• 3 shallots peeled
• 2 whole garlic heads, cut in half
• 5-15 dried red chilies
• 3 1-inch pieces galangal or ginger, peeled
• 1/4 cup cilantro stems and leaves, include the roots if there is
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tbsp tumeric powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1-1/2 tbsp shrimp paste, or 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 2 tbsp chili soaking water

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚F. Soak the chili in warm water for 15 minutes. Take the chilies out and reserve 2-3 tablespoon of the soaking water.
2. Prepare 3 pieces of foil to wrap shallots, garlic and ginger separately. Wrap them and seal the edges, and place them on a baking sheet. Roast them for 30 minutes. You will need to remove the ginger in 10 minutes after you put in.
3. Squeeze out the roasted garlic from its skin, throw in a food processor along with shallots, ginger, chilies and the rest of the ingredients. Process until they become smooth paste. Set aside.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pot over medium heat. Saute the onion until soft. Add the chicken, pumpkin, and 1/3 of the yellow curry paste and toss to coat well. Add the coconut milk and stir well to incorporate. Cover the lid and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Season the curry with fish sauce according to your taste. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve hot with rice.

Notes

1. If you prefer thinner consistency of curry, add 1 cup of chicken stock as you simmer. 2. The curry recipe uses only 1/3 of the yellow curry paste. Store the leftover curry paste in a zilp-lock bag and keep in the fridge for 1 week or 2-3 month in the freezer.