Gulai Ayam Masakan Utara (Northern Chicken Curry with Mint)

I’ve enjoyed taking part in the Malaysian Food Fest as it has given me the opportunity to discover and learn to cook many authentic Malaysian dishes that I have never imagined myself doing. Here is another dish which I tried out recently from the northern states of Kedah/Perlis - Gulai Ayam Masakan Utara (Northern Chicken Curry with Mint). From the list of ingredients, this looks pretty much like ordinary chicken curry. What is really unique about the dish is the addition of mint leaves.

The mint leaves really adds a whole new dimension to the dish and made the curry sauce extra delicious. The spiciness of the curry and the refreshing taste of mint balances out very well. I ate a lot of extra rice so that I can have more the sauce. Even my 5 year old daughter was hooked! She kept asking for sauce and rice. It’s definitely a curry dish I would cook again.

Gulai Ayam Masakan Utara (Norther Curry Chicken with Mint)
Recipe adapted from here

Ingredients

• 1 chicken, chopped into large pieces
• 2 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp light soya sauce
• 1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
• 3 cups coconut milk
• 1 cup chopped mint leaves

Paste Ingredients

• 10 shallots
• 10 cloves of garlic
• 2.5 cm galangal
• 1.5 cm ginger
• Salt and seasoning (omitted)
• 2 large onion quartered
• 2.5 cm tumeric
• 10-15 dried chilli (I substituted with 2 tbsp chilli paste)

Method

• Blend the paste ingredients till fine.
• Marinate chicken for 20-30 mins with salt, soya sauce and brown sugar.
• Mix coconut milk & blended paste in a pot over the fire. Stir slowly until fragrant and then add the chicken.
• Boil slowly until the chicken is well-done and gravy becomes very thick and chicken is cooked through. Season with salt and other seasoning if desired and stir in mint leaves.
• Serve hot with white rice & vegetables.