Whether it is the mild flavored Japanese curry, to the ever popular chicken curry or even the Thai Green curry - curry is synonymous to having a simple meal of vegetable and meat gravy on hot, steaming rice.

Going back to the origins, the term “curry” in Tamil actually means meat. The British mistook the original term, “Kari Columbu” which means meat gravy and shortened it to curry (spicy stew).

Let’s start with the Malaysian Chicken Curry, which has a yellowish orange tinge to the dish. All you need is a whole chicken, cut into serving size pieces, Malaysian meat curry powder (easily obtainable in supermarkets or Asian grocery stalls), chili powder, cooking oil, a can of coconut milk, water, potatoes, salt, onions, garlic and fresh ginger.

Using a blender; grind the onion, garlic and ginger into a paste. In a small bowl, combine the meat curry powder and chili powder, add a dash of water and mix into a thick paste. Then, heat up oil in a wok, add grounded paste of onion, garlic and ginger and stir fry until it is translucent. Add the curry paste, and stir fry.

Now, you can proceed to adding in the chicken. Add coconut milk, season with salt and stir well. Gradually bring the stew to a boil, and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Add in potatoes and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes until cooked. Turn off the heat, and skim off the excess oil on the surface.

Voila! You now have your chicken curry ready to be served with a hot, steaming plate of rice.

Thai Green curry is similar in the preparation, with the difference being the condiments such as lemongrass, coriander seeds fish sauce, shrimp paste, green chilies, galangal (or ginger), lime leaves, fresh coriander, soy sauce, bell peppers and fresh basil being used.

All one needs to do is to prepare the lemongrass; remove the tougher outer leaves and the bulb. Thinly slice it, and pound with pestle and mortar - ready to be used in the blender. Then, proceed to pound the coriander seeds followed by placing fresh condiments in the food processor, giving you a homemade fragrant Thai green curry paste. Simmer the paste in a wok with heated oil and proceed to add in the chicken. Finally add in the bell peppers and garnish with fresh basil once ready.

As for the Japanese curry also known as “kare”, it’s one of the most popular dishes in Japan where people eat it 62 times in a year! It is usually thicker, sweeter and not as spicy. Similar condiments to the Malaysian chicken curry are used with the exception curry paste obtained from the grocery stores which is cube like, and easily dissolved into the stew.

When in doubt in any country, just order curry and you should be able to get a delicious fare - simple and tasty!

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