Hähnchenkeulen mit Thai-Gemüse (chicken drumsticks with Thai vegetables)

Method

1. Pat the drumsticks dry. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown them well on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Remove and set aside; they will not be fully cooked yet.
2. Lower the heat to medium. Sweat the onion, garlic and ginger in the same pan for 4 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the chicken.
3. Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce and brown sugar, and stir to combine.
4. Return the drumsticks to the pan. Bring to a simmer, then cover partly and simmer for 25 minutes, turning once, until the juices run clear when the thickest part is pierced.
5. Add the bell pepper, carrot and mangetout and simmer, uncovered, for 4 more minutes, just until the vegetables are crisp-tender rather than soft.
6. Stir in the lime juice, taste, and adjust with more fish sauce or lime as needed. Serve with the herbs scattered over.

Method in the Thermomix

Written for a TM5 or TM6, 2.2 litre bowl. Browning the drumsticks happens in a pan regardless of method.

1. Brown the drumsticks in a skillet as in the hand method, then set aside.
2. Garlic and ginger into the dry bowl. Chop 3 sec / speed 6. Add the onion, roughly chopped, and chop 4 sec / speed 5.
3. Add the oil. Sauté 4 min / 120 °C / speed 1, measuring cup off.
4. Add the curry paste. Sauté 1 min / 100 °C / speed 1, measuring cup off, until fragrant.
5. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar and the browned drumsticks. Cook 25 min / 95 °C / reverse / speed 1, measuring cup on. Reverse keeps the drumsticks whole.
6. Add the bell pepper, carrot and mangetout. Cook 4 min / 95 °C / reverse / speed 1, measuring cup off.
7. Add the lime juice. Mix 5 sec / reverse / speed 1. Taste through the lid and correct, then serve with herbs scattered over.

Notes

• Browning the drumsticks properly before the sauce goes on is not skippable. It builds a layer of flavour in the pan that the coconut milk then picks up; skipped, the sauce tastes thinner and the chicken paler.
• Add the vegetables at the very end. Simmered the whole time with the chicken, they turn soft and lose their colour; four minutes keeps them bright and crisp.
• Taste before adding extra salt. Fish sauce is already salty, and most of the seasoning here should come from balancing it against the lime rather than reaching for the salt shaker.
• It keeps for 3 days in the fridge, though the vegetables soften further on reheating; adding a handful of fresh ones back in at the end helps.

Ingredient substitutions

• Chicken drumsticks can be bone-in, skin-on thighs, browned and simmered the same way, though they may need 5 extra minutes.
• Mangetout can be sugar snap peas or thin green beans, added at the same point.
• Red curry paste can be yellow or green curry paste for a milder or sharper direction respectively; check the label, as heat levels vary a lot between brands.
• Fish sauce can be soy sauce with a squeeze of extra lime for a version without fish, though the flavour will read as noticeably different from a traditional Thai curry.