My dear friend Celest and I would often visit our neighborhood spice shop, Savory Spice Shop, in Sonoma County for freshly ground and handcrafted spices and seasonings. This quaint shop offers an array of specialty salts to the best spice blends for any recipes. On our last visit, Celest picked up this beautiful Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry spice blend but never got around to using it. A few weeks ago, we said our goodbyes to each other as she was moving back home to Australia. As she was packing up, she passed along heaps (HEAPS!) of delicious goodies from her kitchen, including this beautiful spice blend and recipe.

This easy to make curry roast chicken is packed with flavor but still light and refreshing! Serve over coconut rice or rice noodles along with a crisp, bright white wine.

Chicken

• 4 organic chicken leg quarters
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 2 tablespoons Savory Spice Vietnamese Sweet Lemon Curry*
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced

Mix together the oil, curry, cumin, fish sauce and soy sauce together to make paste. Rub chicken pieces with paste and place in zip lock to marinate in refrigerator for 6 to 12 hours. When chicken is ready, preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lay sliced onion across bottom of baking dish. Place chicken pieces on top of onions and roast in oven until chicken is golden brown and cooked through, about 1¼ hours. When chicken is done, start the sauce.

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup broccoli crowns, sliced
• 1 cup bok choy, sliced
• 1 cup carrots, sliced ( I used rainbow carrots in this dish)
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup light coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• Fresh cilantro for garnish

Heat oil over medium-high heat in saucepan. Add vegetables and cook for a few minutes until they just start to soften. Add roasting juices from cooked chicken dish, chicken broth, coconut milk and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and cook until sauce is reduced by about half.

Pour sauce over chicken pieces when ready to serve and garnish with cilantro.

* this ingredient is from a local spice shop in Sonoma County. To make your own, combine white sugar, turmeric, lemongrass, cumin,black pepper, paprika, salt, coriander, garlic, cardamom, cayenne and curry leaves.

Cheers, Crystal

Adapted from a recipe by Andy Klein, One Ten Thai chef/owner.