Chunky Chicken Drumette and Corn Curry, Made with SN4

The sweetness of corn lives inside the kernels. The longer it simmers, the more of that sweetness leaves for the sauce. So in this curry it goes in only for the last 10 minutes of simmering. The sweetness stays inside the kernels, and only the curry sauce clings around them.

Symphony No.4 layers 2 fruits over 12 spices. The sweetness of dates and cherries works in the same direction as the sweetness of corn. The richness released by bone-in chicken drumettes runs underneath, and coconut milk rounds the whole together. As a southern-island curry, that is how it is built. There is no chili in the blend, so it is not hot.

The drumettes go into the pot on the bone. As they simmer the bones give up their savoriness, and after 20 minutes the meat falls away from them at a touch.

Total time: about 70 min

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• SN4 / starter spices (whole-spice packet): 1 packet
• SN4 / powdered spices (powder packet): 1 packet
• Chicken drumettes — 8 (about 500 g)
• Corn — 1 ear
• Onion — 1
• Garlic — 2 tsp (about 1–2 cloves)
• Ginger — 2 tsp (about 1–2 knobs)
• Canned tomatoes (whole) — one 400 g can
• Coconut milk — 200 ml
• Water — 200 ml
• Salt — 1 tsp
• Oil — 3 tbsp (use whatever oil you like; for this recipe we recommend rice bran oil or white sesame oil)

Use the corn on the day you buy it. Left at room temperature for a day, its sugar turns to starch and the sweetness drops noticeably. If you can't use it right away, stand it husk-on in the vegetable drawer of the fridge. In seasons when there is no fresh corn, 200 g of frozen kernels works too. Those are kernels only, so add them for the last 3 minutes.

Preparation

1. Grate the garlic, then the ginger, in that order. If you don't have a grater, chop them finely.
2. Slice the onion thinly, across the grain.
3. Remove the husk and silk from the corn and cut it crosswise into 3 cm rounds. The cob is hard, so set the knife blade against it first, then press the corn to the cutting board and cut with your body weight behind it.
4. Cut one slit along the bone of each drumette with a knife. It cooks through faster, and the bone gives up its flavor more readily.
5. Open the starter-spice (whole-spice) packet; splitting the cardamom lengthwise with scissors or a knife lifts the brightness of the aroma. The dates and cherries blend into the curry more easily if chopped finely.

Instructions

1. Put the 3 tbsp of oil in a pot over low heat, add the grated garlic and ginger, and cook for about 30 seconds.
2. Once fragrant, add the onion and the 1 tsp of salt, mix well, then turn the heat to high and cook for about 15 minutes, adding small splashes of water as you go, until the onion turns amber.

   How far you take the onion changes the finished dish more than anything else. "It came out watery." "The tomato tastes too sharp." "It lacks depth." The single biggest cause of all three is moving on to the next step before the onion has turned amber. Cook it for a full 12 to 15 minutes, until it is properly amber.
   The points are:
   - keep the heat at medium-high to high
   - spread the onion evenly across the pot and leave it, then stir; spread evenly again and leave it, then stir — and repeat
   - whenever you feel it catching on the bottom as you stir, add a small splash of water (from experience: about 2 tbsp of water each time, five times on average)
   The splashes of water carry the savoriness the onion releases as it cooks through the whole pot, and keep it from burning on its way to amber. Letting it catch just enough to need a splash of water is, in fact, exactly what draws out the flavor best.

3. Once the onion is amber, turn the heat to medium, add the starter spices (whole-spice packet) and fry briefly.
4. Add the 8 drumettes and cook, stirring, until the surface changes color.
5. Add all of the powdered spices and fold them in, as if cooking the powder itself through.
6. Push the ingredients to one side, add the canned tomatoes, crush the whole tomatoes thoroughly, then mix everything together. Keeping the heat at medium, cook for about 2 minutes, until the moisture has gone and oil rises at the side of the pot. This recipe uses 200 ml of coconut milk, so cooking down the tomato's acidity here keeps it from being buried under the sweetness.
7. Add the 200 ml of water and the 200 ml of coconut milk. Once it comes to a boil, turn the heat to low and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.
8. Add the corn and simmer over low heat for another 10 minutes, spooning the sauce over it. Because it goes in only now, the kernels' sweetness doesn't escape into the sauce.
9. Taste at the end and adjust the salt. Adding salt a pinch at a time until the seasoning is where you like it is the key to a delicious finish. Figure on 1/2 to 1 tsp of salt at this stage. There is a lot of sauce in this recipe, so if the first mouthful tastes short, don't hold back — add more.

Cassia (bark) is not usually eaten, so remove it if you come across it.

The corn rounds taste best picked up and eaten off the cob. Putting out small plates and wet towels along with the meal makes the table easier.

The next day, the meat comes off the bones and breaks up in the pot. Take the bones out, spoon it over udon, and it is a meal on its own. The sweetness of the corn falls away overnight, though, so finish the kernels on the day.

Inspice Spice Curry spice sets contain no chili, cayenne pepper or chili powder — the usual main sources of heat — so adjust the spiciness to your liking and enjoy.

To add heat, we recommend HOT SPICE "Umakara". It is a blend that adds heat and umami together, so the dish doesn't simply get hotter — the curry's aroma stays in place while only the outline of the flavor tightens. Don't add it to the pot; sprinkle it on little by little after serving into bowls. That way, people who don't handle heat well can share the same pot.