This may not be the most authentic type of curry, but to me is the most rewarding way of cooking chicken curry. Not only that it is flavorful, I have also find it delightful to sauté the ingredients one by one and see them sizzling in my French oven which will then be cooked as my curry sauce. These ingredients are nothing rare but a few humble members from the onion family including shallot, garlic and red onion. Getting them chopped while hearing the ‘chep, chep, chep’ rhythm from my knife is a sheer pleasure. Yes, even with the onion, I can easily cut it without having tears running.

Cutting onions without crying
All I have to do is to cut the onion lengthwise after peeled and to submerge the two halves in water for a couple of minutes. Then, I can chop or dice them without crying. Here’s why: ‘The tearjerker in onions is a compound called propanethial-s-oxide, which is released in a vapor when onions are cut. When the vapor comes in contact with the eye, it is converted to a form of sulfuric acid, which produces the stinging sensation and subsequent tears. Cutting onions under water or chilling them before cutting, will retard the enzymes that generate the noxious chemicals’ (source: lancaster.unl.edu ). The way I learned (long ago during a casual gathering) though not identical to Lancaster’s, I believe the logics works more or less the same. If you try this little tip and find it works for you, do share with others who would need this piece of advice.

Pass it on
No doubt, I love playing around in my kitchen and preparing food from scratch whenever possible. In a recent blogging, I am interested in reading a post from lululu who explicitly suggests, ‘I totally support Jamie Oliver’s “Ministry of Food”. In case you haven’t heard about the campaign, this is basically about inspiring people who used to cook or have never cooked before to get into their kitchens and make simple and delicious food from scratch. Once you’ve mastered a recipe, you’d teach it to two more people and then ask them to teach it to someone else, he called it “Pass it On”.

So forget the fast foods for a while and entertain yourself with some homemade delicious foods. ‘Pass it on’ to benefit more.

• Ingredients
• 4 chicken drumsticks ~500g
• 2 potatoes ~400g
• 1 carrot ~200g
• Curry sauce
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp paprika powder
• 1 red onion, diced ~200g
• 2 pcs bird eye red chili, finely chopped
• 5-6pcs shallot, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp garlic, finely chop
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• celery ~100g, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp flour + 3 tbsp water for thickening
• Seasonings/marinades for chicken and potatoes
• 1 tsp salt for each
• few droplets of oil
• pinch of ground white pepper