Chicken With Coconut Milk And Bamboo Shoots

For the spice mixture, combine the chilies, candlenuts, galangal, lemongrass, turmeric, garlic, shrimp paste and shallots in a food processer and process until smooth. Crush the coriander seeds until very fine and strain through a fine-mesh sieve to insure that you have a powder. Combine the coriander, white pepper and the spice mixture.

For the chicken, refrigerate the unopened cans of coconut milk. When cold, open the cans and spoon the thick cream off the top. Reserve both the cream and the thinner milk underneath.

Heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the spice mixture and fry, stirring, until fragrant, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the chicken, bamboo shoots and 2 cups of the thin coconut milk, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes. Leaving the sauce in the wok, transfer the chicken to a platter, cover and place in a warm oven. Add 1/2 cup of the reserved coconut cream, the soy sauce, salt and sugar to the wok, and simmer for 10 minutes. Pour over the chicken and serve with rice.