Heat the vegetable oil in a large non-stick wok or frying pan. Add the shallots and garlic and stir fry until translucent.
2 tbsp vegetable oil, 3 shallots, 2 cloves garlic
Add half of the tomatoes and cook over a medium high heat until soft. Add the remaining tomatoes and repeat. This is recommended to avoid the tomatoes becoming stodgy.
2 tomatoes
Add the ginger and lemongrass. Stir fry until the sauce becomes a richer, deeper red colour. Then add the chilli powder, turmeric, fish sauce, and palm sugar and stir.
3 sticks lemongrass, 1 cm ginger, 1 ½ tsp chilli powder, 1 ½ tsp fish sauce, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 ½ tsp palm sugar
Add the chicken pieces with 1 ½ cups of water and mix. Bring to a boil on high for 5 minutes. Then, cover and simmer on a medium heat for approximately 10 minutes. Finish the curry by removing the lid and allowing the sauce to cook down and thicken (approximately another 15 minutes).
250 g chicken pieces, 1.5 cups water
Remove the lemongrass pieces, and serve with steamed white rice.