Burmese Chicken Stew? Maybe?

The title may be hesitant in tone, but I am saying this with no ambivalence: if you would cook from only one of my recipes, be sure it's this one.

My maternal grandmother made this stew for us quite often. Back then, all I cared about, sadly, was eating it, not learning how to make it. In contrast to my mother who wrote down more than she should have, Grandma never wrote down any recipes anywhere and, unless I was there when she made certain dishes, I never learned what went into them. My attempt to get a written-down recipe from Grandma would have been futile anyway given the way she cooked. I can imagine how our conversation would have gone:

Leela: "Did we add enough sugar, Khun Yai?"
Grandma: "Well, is it sweet enough?"
Leela: "Any more fish sauce?"
Grandma: "Is it salty enough?"

(Sigh ...) That's my very Socratic grandmother -- teaching with questions, answering questions with more questions. If we had a Thai version of Jeopardy growing up, Grandma would have been one formidable contestant. But to be fair to Grandma, nobody in her generation, or those before hers, really cooked with recipes anyway. It is all about learning by observation for Thai women in the old days. Back then, you hang out in the kitchen, you learn. You don't hang out in the kitchen, let's hope you marry well and can afford to hire many culinarily-talented maids.

Replacing the chicken thighs in this recipe with equal amount of cubed pork belly makes for a spectacular variation.
So ever since I came to the US, I have been making this dish based on nothing but the memory of what it tasted like when Grandma made it. The first several attempts yielded mixed results, but I think I've finally nailed it. The only thing that bothers me is that I don't know the name of the dish or whether it even has one. It isn't a traditional Thai dish. It isn't a curry or one of the Chinese "red-cooked" dishes. It isn't one of the "western" dishes we sometimes made either. It is different. And it is very yellow. I remember asking Grandma once what kind of chicken stew this was. Socrates paused for a bit, then turned around and answered, with a question, "Burmese?" This time her question wasn't didactic in nature; she actually wasn't sure.

I believed her, though. Grandma had lived in a few places outside of Bangkok, our hometown, and sometimes the influence of regional cuisines, especially the northern cuisine, could be detected in her home cooking. And since the northern Thai cuisine is known to be influenced by Burmese cuisine, the idea of this curried stew being Burmese in origin is not too far-fetched. But it doesn't matter. Burmese or not, I've never called this chicken stew anything but "the Yellow Chicken."

Before we get to how to make "the Yellow Chicken," here's a list of prolegomena:

The amount of fresh ginger and garlic called for may scare you, but you just have to trust me. The ginger and garlic get slow-cooked along with the chicken and eventually turn mild, meltingly soft, and sweet. But if you're extremely sensitive to the spiciness of fresh ginger, you may want to rinse your julienned ginger before adding it to the stew.

Use fresh ginger and garlic only. No substitutes. No shortcuts. No whining.

The ginger needs to be julienned and the garlic thinly sliced crosswise. This is because 1. Grandma did it this way, and 2. I once tried to save time and energy by pulsing the ginger and garlic in a food processor and the stew became a goopy mess with the taste of garlic and ginger being too overpowering.

Use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for best results. You can use boneless chicken, but it won't be as flavorful due to the absence of the bones. I figured a cut-up whole fryer would do. But I do not recommend boneless, skinless chicken breast.

Be careful when cooking with turmeric. Once it gets on your light-colored shirt, it's there for eternity and a day. Want to see the white gossamer top I wore last time I made/ate this?

Burmese Chicken Stew? Maybe?
(Makes 4 very generous servings)
Downloadable Version


8 medium bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (approximately 3 lbs)
One whole head of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced (approximately 1/2 cup, lightly packed)
Fresh ginger, peeled, sliced, and julienned (approximately 2 cups, lightly packed)
One medium white or yellow onion, roughly sliced
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons fish sauce or 2 teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup Chinese cooking wine or brandy
2 tablespoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup water

Set a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the chicken thigh, skin side down. Leave the chicken alone until you get a good sear on the skin side.

In the meantime, quickly whisk together the remaining ingredients except the ginger, garlic, and onion.

Once the chicken is browned on the skin side (it doesn't have to be cooked through), flip them so that the skin side is now on top. Drain off the excess fat.

Sprinkle the julienned ginger and sliced garlic on top of the chicken and pour the seasoning mixture over the chicken. Reduce the heat to medium and close the lid. Forget it for about 20 minutes.

Add the sliced onion into the skillet, close the lid, and let the stew cook for another 20 minutes.

Serve warm over steamed rice.

What Chris has said about this recipe: "... This is the dish that made me say, "Wow!" "... The finished dish is so delicious it's hard to describe. Rich, highly seasoned, aromatic (understatement) and irresistable ..." and "... I really encourage you to try this. It's not hard. And in less that an hour you'll be glad you did. I swear!" ~ Thanks for the review, Chris!