Another firm fav’ of mine…..why? It’s a damned delicious chicken curry that’s family-happy and explodes with vietnamese flavours & spices. Best part? By night time all the hard-yakka has been done. Idea: make life easier and do a double-batch. Credit to “I Quit Sugar Slow-Cooker Cookbook”

Note: best to marinate chicken overnight, or for at least 1 hour.
You’ll need:
700 g chicken thighs or chicken pieces, skin on and bone in.
1 stalk lemongrass, peeled and sliced thinly (white part only) keep green ends (or use 1 tablespoon bought minced lemongrass).
2 cloves garlic, minced.
3cm knob of fresh ginger, minced (or 1 tablespoon bought minced ginger).
2 tablespoons fish sauce.
1/3 cup yellow curry powder or Massaman curry paste. (REAL INGREDIENTS ONLY. NO SUGAR, ADDITIVES ETC.)
1 cup chicken stock. (REAL INGREDIENTS ONLY. NO SUGAR, ADDITIVES ETC) .
2 medium sweet potato cut into 2.5cm chunks.
1 large carrot, cut into 2.5cm chunks.
400 ml coconut milk. (BPA-FREE CANS BEST E.G. HONEST TO GOODNESS.)
2 bay leaves.
2 tablespoons arrowroot or cornflour.
2 green shallots, chopped.
To serve: fresh veggies like zucchini, beans & cauliflower. Roti mountain bread, roti, rice or papadams to serve.

1 hour or the night before
Place the chicken, minced lemongrass, garlic, ginger, fish sauce and half the curry powder or paste in a bowl (it’s best to use the ceramic insert from your electric slow cooker if possible) and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to marinate. (You could even leave it overnight).

That morning
Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker (if you’ve marinated the chicken in the insert, simply replace the insert). Mix the rest of the curry powder or paste with a little stock, and add to the slow cooker along with the vegetables, the rest of the stock, the coconut milk, lemongrass ends and bay leaves. Stir to combine and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

That night
If you like a thicker curry, 20 minutes before serving, remove 1/4 cup of the liquid from the slow cooker and whisk in the arrowroot or cornflour to form a slurry, then pour back into the curry and stir through. Place the lid , turn the slow cooker to high and cook for another 20 minutes.

Garnish with shallots and serve with lots of fresh veggies and some rice, roti, mountain bread or papadams.