hello hi everyone! Wesley here. Today we’re kicking off a brand new series with a highly requested foray into South Asian Indian cuisine, starting with a shot at a classic chicken tikka masala. Unlike the world of Chinese and Taiwanese cuisines that we more typically swim in, South Asian Indian cooking lives less in the world of high heat flash wok cooking, and more commonly in the universe of slow cooking, braising, and looow simmering heat. This of course means that our new series will also be accompanied by a relatively new set of cooking techniques and approaches that will look fairly different from the East Asian high heat wok stir fries that we have done in the past. 

For those unfamiliar, tikka masala most prominently features a diced chicken thigh that has been marinated in a spiced yogurt blend, then roasted and slow cooked in a tomato and cream based sauce. Today we’ll be doing this with some canned tomato, tomato paste, and coconut milk, but i’ll also be running through some decent substitutions for those who have difficulty finding some of these ingredients. Finally as with many of our dishes which feature roasting, smoking, and/or open flames, I’ll also be employing some wok technique using wok hei to do my very best to emulate those smokey qualities in my very tiny apartment kitchen, as i’m sure many of you are doing as well. Hope you try it. 

 

Serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 cloves garlic

  • 2 inches (about 2 tbsp) ginger

  • 1/4 cup cilantro

  • 1/2 medium onion

  • 1lb (about 4) medium chicken thighs

  • peanut oil

INGREDIENTS (sauce)

  • 1/2 cup whole milk

  • 1/2 cup coconut cream

  • 1 1/2 cup water

  • 2 tbsp tomato paste

  • 14oz crushed tomatoes

  • 2 tbsp garam masala

  • 1 tbsp cumin

  • 1 tbsp chili powder

  • 1 tsp turmeric

  • kosher salt

INGREDIENTS (marinade)

  • 1 cup yogurt

  • 1 tbsp garam masala

  • 1 tbsp chili powder

  • 1 tsp turmeric

  • pinch kosher salt

PREP

  • CRUSH and mince the garlic, then add half to the marinade bowl, and set the other half aside

  • FINE MINCE the ginger, then add half to the marinade bowl, and set the other half aside

  • MINCE the cilantro, set aside

  • DICE the onion, set aside

  • DICE the chicken, then combine with all remaining marinade ingredients and set aside

ON THE STOVE

  • HEAT a wok as hot as possible, then add 1/4 cup peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD the chicken a piece at a time and sear undisturbed for 2 1/2 minutes before turning

  • TOSS the wok and tilt toward the open flame to ignite the cooking fats for wok hei, then remove and set aside

  • CLEAN out the wok, reheat, add 1/4 cup peanut oil and long yao

  • ADD garlic and ginger to the wok and bloom until fragrant (about 15 seconds)

  • ADD the tomato paste to the wok and cook on the wok surface for 1-2 minute

  • ADD the garam masala, cumin, chili powder, and turmeric and bloom on the wok surface until fragrant for about 15 seconds

  • ADD the remaining sauce ingredients and toss to combine

  • ADD the onions and chicken back to the wok and let simmer for 30 minutes

  • SEASON with kosher salt to taste

  • FINISH with cilantro

 

tagged with woo can cook, tikka masala, chicken tikka masala, indian cooking, south asian cooking, cooking, recipe, wok cooking