This is a bold and vibrant Vietnamese Chicken Curry! With an indulgent creamy broth and melt-in-your-mouth drumsticks, it’s the perfect companion for fresh baguettes and rice noodles. You’ll also love how the curry has an added richness using a secret ingredient!
A family favorite that we always go back to
When Winter comes around, our Vietnamese Chicken Curry transforms those cold nights into toasty heartfelt memories: warm bread crunching between your fingers, silky noodles sliding along chopsticks and steaming hot broth melting the chills away.
While that may be enough to keep me craving, it’s not what drives me to make it over and over again.
It’s the fall apart drumsticks that have been flash fried to seal in its juices, then slow cooked in curry broth. It’s the tender vegetables that add a natural sweetness to each mouthful.
And it’s the moment when you dip crusty baguette into the soup to soak up every last golden drop before biting into an explosion of earthy aromatic flavour.
This is hands down the only Vietnamese Chicken Curry recipe you’ll need in your life!
Why this recipe works
In our family recipe, there are two ways to sweeten the broth without using sugar:
(1) Adding taro. Taro has a natural nutty sweetness that is not only adds flavour, but once it cooks into the curry, the dish becomes incredibly creamy.
(2) Adding sweet potato. Anything with sweet potato will be guaranteed added sweetness because once cooked, the enzymes will break the starch down into sugar.
(3) Adding sweetened condensed milk. This is our family’s secret ingredient to a rich and luscious broth. It makes the fish beautifully smooth and gives a depth of flavour that can’t be achieved with just sugar alone.
You won’t regret it once you try it!
What you’ll need
About the marinade
To get a classic Cà Ri Gà taste, our family marinade consists of tumeric powder, lemongrass and garlic. You can also include curry powder for more flavor.
We also buy curry sauce from the Asian supermarket, which is sold in individually sealed packets as a meat or vegetarian sauce.
How to make this recipe
Cut the lemongrass into 10 cm (4″) segments. Smash the lemongrass and garlic cloves until they’re partially split, then put them in a bowl with the drumsticks and giblets.
Marinate the drumsticks and giblets in tumeric powder.
Heat up a wok on high heat and add the cooking oil. Flash fry the taro until crispy on the outside then set aside.
Note: This will help to develop a crispy crust around the taro which prevents it from breaking up in the curry.
Flash fry the sweet potatoes until crispy on the outside in the same oil, then set aside.
Separate the lemongrass and garlic from the marinated drumsticks and giblets. Reuse the cooking oil (or replace with 3 tbsp new oil) to fry the lemongrass and garlic for 30 seconds.
Pour the drumsticks into the wok and cook for 5 minutes or enough to to sear all sides.
Meanwhile, bring the chicken and pork stock to a boil and add the curry sauce, coconut cream, condensed milk, chicken bouillon powder, salt and curry leaves.
Add the drumsticks, taro, sweet potatoes and onions in and cook on a medium simmer for 20 minutes.
Serve with a squeeze of lime juice, fresh Vietnamese baguette and rice noodles!
FAQs
You can skip this ingredient altogether and replace it with curry powder instead. The sauce just adds creaminess and potent flavor to the dish.
Absoutely! I still recommend marinating the meat and flash frying the aromatics and vegetables, but after that you can put everything into the pot and slow cook for 8 hours.
Traditional Vietnamese curry isn’t thick like Indian curries, which is what makes it unique. If you prefer a thicker soup, mix corn starch with water and slowly pour the slurry into the soup as it simmers just before serving.
Tips for the best results
- Marinate the drumsticks overnight. For the best infused flavors, coat the meat in marinade and leave it in the fridge. If you’re low on time, 20 minutes will work.
- Let the chicken come to room temperature. Make sure to take the chicken out of the fridge 20 minutes prior to cooking to avoid having tough meat.
- Avoid cooking the sweet potato and taro for too long. The longer they cook in the soup, the softer they become and the more likely they are to break apart.
Fall in love with more noodle soups!
- Vietnamese Beef Stew (Bò Kho) – Another hearty, rich Winter warmer that pairs perfectly with noodles and baguettes.
- Vietnamese Chicken Tapioca Noodle Soup (Bánh Canh Gà) – Light and super simple to make, it’s a family weekend favorite!
- Satay Beef Noodle Soup – You’ll win everyone over with this ever-popular spicy and creamy beef noodle soup recipe.
- Banh Canh Cua (Crab Tapioca Noodle Soup) – Thick and full of seafood flavor, there’s everything to love about this recipe!
- Vietnamese Pork and Prawn Clear Noodle Soup (Hủ Tiếu Nam Vang) – This is a common breakfast dish for a reason! It’s got a myriad of toppings balanced by a homey broth.
- Bun Mam (Vietnamese Fermented Fish Noodle Soup) – Robust and earthy, you can’t miss out on what the locals love in this recipe!
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Vietnamese Chicken Curry (Cà Ri Gà)
Ingredients
The Chicken Marinade
- 10 chicken drumsticks
- chicken giblets (optional)
- 6 tbsp tumeric powder (or enough to cover all the chicken)
- 2 stalks lemongrass
- 4 cloves garlic (smashed)
The Curry Broth
- 5 L chicken and pork stock
- 15 curry leaves (we get it from the local Asian supermarket)
- 600 g / 1.5 lb taro (peeled and cut into large chunks)
- 600 g / 1.5 lb sweet potato (peeled and cut into large chunks)
- 230 g / 0.5 lb curry sauce (we get it from the Asian grocery store; or use 3 tbsp curry powder instead)
- 1 L / 4 US cup coconut cream
- 2 US cup sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
- 3 tbsp salt (or to taste)
- 2 US cup cooking oil
- 2 large onions
- blood jelly (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the lemongrass into 10 cm (4") segments. Smash the lemongrass and garlic cloves until they're partially split, then put them in a bowl with the drumsticks and giblets.
- Marinate the drumsticks and giblets in tumeric powder.
- Heat up a wok on high heat and add the cooking oil. Flash fry the taro until crispy on the outside then set aside.Note: This will help to develop a crispy crust around the taro which prevents it from breaking up in the curry.
- Flash fry the sweet potatoes until crispy on the outside in the same oil, then set aside.
- Separate the lemongrass and garlic from the marinated drumsticks and giblets. Reuse the cooking oil (or replace with 3 tbsp new oil) to fry the lemongrass and garlic for 30 seconds.
- Pour the drumsticks into the wok and cook for 5 minutes or enough to to sear all sides.
- Meanwhile, bring the chicken and pork stock to a boil and add the curry sauce, coconut cream, condensed milk, chicken bouillon powder, salt and curry leaves.
- Add the drumsticks, taro, sweet potatoes and onions in and cook on a medium simmer for 20 minutes.
- Serve with a squeeze of lime juice, fresh Vietnamese baguette and rice noodles!
Notes
- Marinate the drumsticks overnight. For the best infused flavors, coat the meat in marinade and leave it in the fridge. If you're low on time, 20 minutes will work.
- Let the chicken come to room temperature. Make sure to take the chicken out of the fridge 20 minutes prior to cooking to avoid having tough meat.
- Avoid cooking the sweet potato and taro for too long. The longer they cook in the soup, the softer they become and the more likely they are to break apart.
- We buy curry sauce from the Asian supermarket, which is sold in individually sealed packets as a meat or vegetarian sauce.
Nutrition
Join the family!
This post was originally published on 27/2/20 and updated with tips and FAQs in September 2020.
I love this curry! Will serve with some crusty bread to soak it up! YUM!
The best way to serve it! 😁
The drumstick is my favorite part of the chicken. This is a great dish. My husband loved it too.
Thanks, Krissy! Glad you both enjoyed it!
Oh my, this chicken looks fantastic! Love all the flavors in this.
Thanks, Andrea!
I’ve never cooked with taro before, so this is all new to me, but this curry has so many intricate flavors, they must postively dance on your tongue!
It definitely does! I hope you get to try it out one day!
Drooling over that curry. Such a delicious and flavorful recipe. Saving it for later
Thanks, Kushigalu! I hope you enjoy it!
5 liters of chicken/pork stock? How do we scale this down to less broth?
If you’d like a smaller portion, you can halve all the measurements 🙂
Ok thanks, will give it a try!
Sounds good!
That looks so colourful and lots of lovely sauce to dunk bread in.
Thanks, Jacqueline! Definitely worth getting more baguettes for! 😉
SO many awesome flavors in this Vietnamese curry! A real burst of tastes.
Thanks, Katherine!
What an incredible looking chicken curry. Such delicious flavours.
Thanks, Dannii!
That sauce, wow! I had a really hard time not eating all the bread soaked in it. I could eat an entire meal just with the bread and sauce. The chicken is a bonus!
Yes, bread and curry is a winning combination! 😀
This is a perfect recipe for a winter meal, so tasty and warming. I imagine it smells delicious as it cooks. Great for a family meal and easy to freeze in portions for another day.
Agreed, Helen! Freezing in portions is such a fabulous idea!
Looks really good. What are curry leaves?
Thanks, Jen! Curry leaves are aromatic leaves that add a mild citrus flavor to the recipe 🙂
What kind of curry sauce did you use for this recipe? Is there a specific brand that you normally buy?
Hi, Ha. I use the A1 instant curry sauce (meat version). You’ll find it in the picture where I have the ingredients 🙂
Hi,
Few Asian food stores have the label on the shelf written in English. Though one of my local Chinese ones does, I haven’t found a Vietnamese one that does it.
I live near Marrickville. Do you know of any Vietnamese grocers that have labels in English so I can match it back to your ingredients lists?
Or failing that, would you consider putting the Vietnamese name alongside the English name in your ingredients list? That way I could maybe ask one of the shop assistants for help in finding it.
Thanks for these great recipes.
Hi, Peter! I don’t think I’ve seen any Vietnamese shops that have labels on the shelf but if you go to Tong Li in Cabramatta, they have a section dedicated to Vietnamese ingredients simply because there’s such a large community of Vietnamese people. I know they have their shelves labelled because I’ve used those labels for their Chinese ingredients. Otherwise your next best bet is to ask the workers there. Hope this helps!
Do you think I could substitute boneless chicken breasts with success?
Hi, Vicki! You sure can 😀 It may be a little less fatty but marinating it and cooking it in the coconut cream will still yield a great curry!
What pork did you use to make the stock?
We use pork bones and lean pork 🙂
Hi Jeannette,
I’ve always loved my Mom’s Vietnamese curry over the years but too intimidated to make. I’m going to attempt this for the first time with your recipe! I wanted to confirm the condense milk quantity as 2 cups? Thank you!
Hi, Natalie! Vietnamese Curry is definitely something worth making at home 🙂 It definitely is 2 cups, but you’re also working with a fairly large serving so you can always adjust it to suit your taste and family. You can also try starting with 1 cup, then adding more if you need to. I hope you love it as much as we do!