This dish was inspired by Jamie Oliver’s Chicken in Milk. Basically, I used the same concept in searing the chicken then braising it in my 26cm Le Creuset French Oven. If you ask me, it’s pretty much a one pot chicken as both the searing and braising were done in the same pot. What was different was giving it a little Thai flair by using aromatic herbs like lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and substituting milk for coconut milk.
The result was nothing lack of awesome. I love the fragrance of all the blend of Thai spices marrying together with rich coconut milk. The chicken was slow braised till it was fall off the bone tender. The flavour of the gravy and chicken is kind of a cross between Thai green curry and Tom Kha Gai.
I made this to bring to a pot luck party at a friend’s place. And because there were a lot of kids at the get together, I opted out on the chilli peppers. Personally, it would have been even better with hot chilli peppers, but it’s my own bias opinion. Simply because I love hot & spicy food! However, the feedback I got that day was very good. The chicken was very well received by everyone. Definitely something I’ll make again for another party. Most of the cooking was done by my oven, freeing me the time to do other stuff.
Chicken in Coconut Milk
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg Chicken cleaned
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 lemongrass bruised and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 5 slices galangal blue ginger
- 5 slices ginger
- 5 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 thai chilli make a slit length wise (optional, i omited for the kids)
- 2 lime leaves
- zest of 2 limes
- 2 limes halved
- 3 coriander roots and stems
- Handful of Thai basil
- 2 cups of coconut milk
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fish sauce to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 160C.
- Season chicken inside and outside with salt and pepper.
- Heat French oven, and add coconut oil.
- Brown chicken on all sides (about 3-4 minutes each side).
- Remove chicken from pot, and discard most of the oil in the pot.
- Stuff chicken with the 2 limes.
- Add the gingers, garlic, lemongrass, chilli in pot, and give it a saute.
- Then add coconut milk, and bring to a simmer.
- Add in lime leaves, and coriander roots.
- Then return chicken into French oven breast side up, and sprinkle in lime zest.
- Cover, and remove from heat, then transfer French oven to preheated oven.
- Bake 60 minutes covered.
- Then uncover and bake for 30 minutes, or until chicken is fall of the bone tender.
- Gently lift chicken to serving platter.
- Season sauce with fish sauce to taste.
- Remove all the herbs before serving.
- Spoon sauce around chicken.
- Then garnish with fresh Thai basil leaves.
