Pineapple Curry

Somlaw Machu Ktis Manaws: Healthy and creamy with natural sweet and sour from pineapple, it’s no wonder that this curry is comfort food. Despite its beautiful deep red color, this popular Cambodian curry is not spicy.

Somlaw Machu Ktis Manaws – Healthy and creamy with natural sweet and sour from pineapple, it's no wonder that this curry is comfort food.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Cambodian
Keyword: curry, Lemongrass Paste, Pineapple, Pineapple Curry, Pineapple Soup
Servings: 12
Calories: 159kcal
Author: Channy Laux

Ingredients

  • 3 ounces cooking oil
  • 5 tbsp Angkor California Chili Powder
  • 6 ounces Angkor Lemongrass Paste
  • 1.5 pound chicken thighs (1” cubes)*
  • 1.5 pound fresh pineapple (½” cubes)
  • 5 cups chicken broth
  • 1.5 14 oz can coconut cream
  • 1.5 ounce Lacinato kale (remove stems, chop bite sized)
  • 1 ounce chi neang vorng (Thai basil) **
  • salt
  • 1 fruit lime (optional)

Instructions

  • Prepare the base – Heat oil and chili powder over lowest heat; stir continuously until oil turns red. Add 6 tablespoons of top part of coconut cream, stir constantly until paste is bubbling, and uniform in texture. Add lemongrass paste, continue cooking until liquid is gone and paste begins to stick together. 
  • Cook the meat – Turn heat to medium, add chicken and sauté until meat is evenly seared. Add ½ cup of water stir and bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until chicken is fully cooked (at least 165ºF), stir halfway through.
  • Add remaining ingredients – Add pineapple, mix well. Turn heat to high, add chicken broth and bring to rolling boil. Add the remaining coconut cream, stir.  Turn off heat, add basil and kale; salt to taste.
  • Optional – Some pineapple is too sweet and not sour enough, thus it is an option to add fresh squeeze lime juice to taste.

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 159kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 258mg | Potassium: 168mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 412IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg

Notes

Serve with steamed rice, slices of baguette (toasted), soba noodles, or angel-hair pasta.
Despite its beautiful deep red color, this popular soup is not spicy.
* Variation: Replace chicken with 2.0 pounds spare ribs cut 1½” thick.  Simmer ribs for 1.5 hour until the meat is easily removed from the bones.  Remove the bones and return meat to soup. 
** Substitution: If chi neang vorng is not available use Italian basil.
Tried this recipe?Mention @AngkorFood or tag #angkorfood, thank you!

Published by Channy Laux

Channy Laux is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia. She was thirteen-years-old when the Khmer Rouge took over the country in 1975. From 1975 to 1979, Channy endured starvation, horrendous working conditions, sickness and repeated separations from her family. In June of 1979, Channy arrived in Lincoln Nebraska as a refugee. After four years of no school and not knowing a word of English, she attended Lincoln High School; earned a Master of Science in Applied Mathematics from Santa Clara University and undergraduate degrees from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Channy worked in Silicon Valley as an engineer in the Aerospace and Biotech industries for 30 years. In 2017 Channy decided to focus on completing a promise that she made to herself as she and her family struggled to survive the Cambodian genocide. “If I ever make it out alive, I will make sure the world knows what happened to us.” Channy published her memoir “Short Hair Detention”, which receives multiple awards, including Nebraska’s 2018 Book Award. Channy is also founder of Angkor Cambodian Food. Her goal is to bring Cambodian cuisine into American kitchens, by providing authentic and hard to find ingredients along with easy to follow recipes. One of her creations Kroeurng (Lemongrass cooking paste) receives sofiTM Award from Specialty Foods and Innovation Foodservice Award from IFMA. Channy now balances her time between her business and educating communities on the Cambodian Genocide. She works with schools and other organizations to promote awareness of Cambodian Genocide. She is a member of Speakers Bureau for JFCS Holocaust Center.

4 thoughts on “Pineapple Curry

  1. This Cambodian soup sounds yummy with pineapple, lemon grass paste, chili powder, chicken and coconut milk. I know coconut milk makes everything delicious. Lemon grass is most flavorful in curries. The recipe sounds amazing. Our small town is pretty diversified but you couldn t get Hubby to try any of them. He was stationed in the Far East and Crete and he likes many types of dishes but when I mention adding raisins to a dish or any fruit he balks. I think I ll just do it and let him guess what s in it. This soup is one I d enjoy.

    1. Hi Angelina, Thank you for taking time to share your thoughts on this soup. Over the years I have been making this same soup for many special events (private dinner party, cooking class, Cambodian Popup dinner, parties) and I’ve not met a single who does not like it, yet :). I think your Hubby will like it, especially since he is very worldly and likes many different kind of dishes. I can’t wait to find out what he thinks about it.

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