Chu Chi — Dry-Fried Reduced Curry / ฉู่ฉี่

Central Thai — chu chi is a Central Thai restaurant technique; the dry-glaze application is more refined than home-style curry cooking

Chu chi is the technique of reducing a red or panang-based coconut curry until almost completely dry, then applying it to a pre-cooked protein (typically whole fried fish or prawns) as a concentrated, intensely fragrant glaze rather than a sauce. The coconut-paste reduction is cooked separately until the fat separates and the paste has caramelised slightly, then applied over or around the finished protein. The distinguishing characteristic is the almost-dry sauce consistency — coconut fat and paste fused into a glaze with kaffir lime chiffonade and red chilli threads. This technique represents the intersection between stir-fry and curry in Thai cooking.

Chu chi is the Thai dish that most rewards understanding of coconut fat behaviour — the visual cue of fat separating in the glaze and the sensory cue of caramelised paste aroma are the indicators of a correctly executed preparation.