Kai Kaeng - chicken casserole

This is a "Thai-ised" version of a recipe from Delia Smith's cooking
course, called Chicken with Whole Spice, which is a mild pastiche on
Indian food.

This version is set up for a slow-crock cooker, but it could be prepared
as a conventional casserole by simmering it on the stove top for about
30 minutes or in an oven at about 180 C for 30 minutes or so. In either
case check occasionally for "doneness" as I have lost my notes on oven
cooking of this dish (not owning an oven it is of little interest to
us...)

Ingredients

4 cups of chicken, filleted and cut into bite sized pieces.

for the marinade

1 tablespoon of garlic, cruchsed
1 tablespoon of fresh root ginger, grated
1 tablespoon of shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon of peanut oil
a pinch of turmeric, and salt & pepper to taste.

for the sauce

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of cardamom pods
1 tablespoon of fermented shrimp paste
1 cup of shallots, finely sliced (or use red onions)
1 tablespoon of prik ki nu (green birdseye chilis), thinly sliced
1 tablespoom of prik ki nu daeng (red birdseye chilis), thinly sliced
1 cup of coconut milk

Method

Mix the ingredients of the marinade, and marinade the chicken in a cool
place for about 3 hours.

Toast the cumin, coriander, and cardamom in a dry heavy skillet or wok,
until aromatic, and grind to a fine powder.

Blend the ingredients of the sauce together.

Transfer the chicken and marinade to a wok or sautee pan and stir fry
until the chicken just starts to change colour.

Transfer to a slow-crock cooker, and add the sauce, and then simmer,
covered on low heat for one to one and a half hours (until the chicken
is cooked, tender, and the pieces fall apart at the pressure of a
chopstick.)

Serve with steamed white rice.