Panang Chicken Curry is just one of the delicious supercharged South East Asian Curries I make on the regular. So full of flavour but without toasting your tastebuds with chilli heat. I always make my Thai Panang Curry milder than say a green or red curry, because it can't always he about hot hot spice - sometimes we need to appreciate the sweeter, more fragrant side of Thailand.
Soak the dried chillies in freshly boiled water for about 5 minutes to soften.
Using a stick blender or pestle & mortar, grind everything together until you have a smooth paste. If you're using a pestle & mortar grind the whole ingredients in the order they appear and then stir in the other ingredients. Set the paste aside. If you're using a blender, add a little water to get the paste smooth.
In a wok, heat the coconut oil over a moderate heat until hot. Add the spice paste and fry for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and stir fry for 3-4 minutes.
Pour in the coconut milk, fill up the can 3/4 full with water and add that then add the fish sauce and sugar and bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer gently for 40 minutes. In the last 10 minutes, turn up the heat and let the sauce reduce until thick and just separated. This may take longer or shorter - just use your judgement! Sprinkle over the coriander and serve alongside plenty of Jasmine rice.