Gaeng Khua Sapparot Gai

Last week, I discovered a large pineapple at the Turkish supermarket and took it home. With this, I wanted to cook a Thai curry over the weekend, preferably one I hadn’t tried before. I flipped through several cookbooks and websites and eventually found the southern Thai Gaeng Khua. In principle, it’s a yellow curry, but spicier and uses more turmeric in its paste, known as Krueang Gaeng Khua.

Gaeng Khua is often prepared with fish and pineapple, but I was in the mood for poultry, so I bought some large chicken drumsticks from the Turkish butcher. I prepared them in the oven, prepared the curry paste in the meantime, and then added the drumsticks along with their pan drippings to the curry. In Thailand, they would probably grill them. For fun, we served the “Gaeng Khua Sapparot Gai” ( แกงคั่วไก่สับปะรด ) in the pineapple shell. However, we had to serve the drumsticks separately because they were simply too large.

Preparation

First, the chicken drumsticks should be thoroughly washed. Then gently pat them dry and let them dry slightly. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) with convection.

While the drumsticks are drying and the oven is heating up, cut the lemongrass into thin rings. Then heat the vegetable oil in a large pan that can accommodate all the drumsticks and sear them on all sides.

Once the drumsticks start to brown, add the lemongrass and Kaffir lime leaves and briefly sear them as well. Then deglaze with the water.

Now cover the pan and bake the drumsticks for twenty minutes at the preheated 200°C (400°F). Then reduce the oven temperature to 80°C (175°F) and continue baking the drumsticks for another hour.

In the meantime, you can prepare the Southern Thai Khua Curry Paste according to the linked recipe. And this time there are no excuses that it would take too long, because you have plenty of time while the drumsticks are in the oven.

After the curry paste is prepared, the pineapple needs to be cut. Halve the fruit and cut the flesh along the edge, then cut squares. This way you can remove individual pieces without damaging the shell. Then cut the pieces into bite-sized cubes.

Once the drumsticks have been in the oven long enough, remove the pan and let it cool slightly. Then heat the oil in a wok and fry the curry paste until it is fragrant. Then deglaze with the coconut milk, reduce the heat slightly, and let it simmer.

Now pour the pan drippings from the drumsticks, along with the lime leaves and lemongrass, into the curry and then add the drumsticks themselves. Season the curry with tamarind paste, fish sauce, and palm sugar and let it simmer for about ten minutes.

In the meantime, trim and cut the snake beans into bite-sized pieces. Then add the pineapple pieces to the curry and let everything simmer for another five minutes.

Now remove the drumsticks and keep them warm. Add the beans to the curry and let it simmer for another five minutes. At the same time, cut the Kaffir lime leaves into thin strips and the chilies into thin rings.

Pour the finished curry into the half pineapple and garnish with the sliced lime leaves and chilies. Then pour the remaining curry over the drumsticks and serve with the filled pineapple and jasmine rice.