marinate chicken with fish sauce, lemongrass, shallot, garlic, salt, pepper, two tablespoons of the curry powder and chile flakes. Leave for at least 15 minutes, or overnight
sear the chicken in a large pot on medium high heat
OPTIONAL: fry the carrots and potatoes in a separate pot for 3-5 minutes, or enough to form a light brown crust on the outside of the vegetables. They do not need to be cooked through
add 10 cups water and ¼ cup of the coconut milk to the chicken and bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer.
once chicken has boiled, add the carrots
add the potatoes about 10 minutes after the carrots have been in the soup. Continue to simmer until the potatoes are cooked through, about 20-45 minutes depending on whether or not you fried the vegetables first
once potatoes are cooked, turn off heat and add the rest of the coconut milk
in a small pan or saucepan, heat up 2 tablespoon of oil on medium low heat. Add the last tablespoon of curry powder and toast until fragrant, about 2 minutes
pour the hot curry oil over the the soup. Season with more salt or fish sauce as necessary
serve with a Vietnamese baguette, French or Italian bread