Massaman Chicken Currywith rice / broccoli
Massaman curry is a mild curry that is made with fragrant spices and coconut milk. Though the flavors (and the inclusion of potatoes in the curry) take inspiration from India, the curry is most common in Thailand. This meal was previously featured in 2018.
Smarts #1: In testing this recipe we used a standard grocery store peanut butter that included salt and sugar. If using natural peanut butter. you may want to add a bit of sweetener and / or extra salt to the finished dish.
Smarts #2: This recipe could be made in the Instant Pot. For tips, join the Cook Smarts Instant Pot Facebook Group.
Ingredients
- Peanuts, roasted and unsalted - 1/4 cup, chopped
- Garlic - 2 cloves, chopped
- Shallots - 2 cloves, diced
- Ginger - 1 inch, grated
- Curry paste, Massaman - 2 Tbsp (sub red curry paste)
- Coriander, ground - 1 tsp
- Cumin - 1/2 tsp
- Cinnamon - 1/2 tsp
- Broccoli - 12 oz, chopped
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Stock, any type - 1/4 cup
- Rice, uncooked white or brown - 3/4 cup
- Onions, red - 1/2, thinly sliced
- Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless - 1 lb, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- Potatoes, russet - 1 lb, peeled and cubed
- Oil, cooking - 1 Tbsp
- Stock, any type - 1 cup
- Coconut milk, light - 1 cup
- Tamarind concentrate - 2 Tbsp
- Fish sauce - 1 Tbsp (sub soy sauce)
- Peanut butter - 1 Tbsp
- Limes - 1, wedges
- Cilantro (opt) - 2 Tbsp, chopped
Nutrition Facts
Prep
- Rice - For white rice, rinse until clear. Fill a saucepan or Dutch oven (or rice cooker) with rice, water (use 2:1 ratio for water to rice), and some salt. Cover with lid and bring to a boil. Once water boils, stir, lower heat to a low-medium, and cover. Check white rice after ~20 min; brown at ~45 min. Rice is done when it's absorbed all the water. If it's not done, leave the cover on until all water has been absorbed. Take cover off to release steam and fluff with a wooden spoon after 5 minutes. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Broccoli / Onions / Peanuts / Garlic / Shallots / Ginger - Prep as directed. Store broccoli and onions each in their own containers. Combine peanuts, garlic, shallots, and ginger in one container. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Make curry base - Combine peanuts, garlic, shallots, ginger, curry paste, coriander, cumin, and cinnamon. (Can be done up to 5 days ahead)
- Chicken - Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces. Tenderize with a fork and season with some salt and pepper. (Can be done 1 day ahead)
- Potatoes - Peel and cube. If not using right away, soak in water to prevent browning.
Make
- Heat a Dutch oven with oil (portion for curry) over medium-high heat. Add chicken and saute until chicken is golden brown on the outside but not cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add curry base and onions and saute until onions are starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add potatoes, stock (portion for curry), and coconut milk. Bring to a low simmer and cover with the lid.
- Simmer, covered, until potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
- When curry is nearly finished, heat a wok or skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil (portion for broccoli) and then broccoli and a pinch of salt. Saute broccoli for 2 minutes to get it started cooking.
- Pour stock (portion for the broccoli) over top and cover with a lid or foil. Steam broccoli until tender, ~5 minutes.
- Return to curry and stir in tamarind concentrate, fish sauce, and peanut butter. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 minute more.
- Slice limes into wedges and chop cilantro.
- Remove curry from heat and squeeze half the lime wedges over top. Season with some salt.
- If rice was made ahead, reheat in the microwave.
- Serve curry over rice with cilantro on top and broccoli on the side. Serve with extra lime wedges for squeezing over curry and / or broccoli. Enjoy!
Reviews
This meal has 19 reviews
This was fine, we felt like it was missing another spice, or flavor to really stand out as being one that we want to make again.
Used chicken breast tenders, added spinach and a bit of tomato paste. Used the chopped peanuts as topping. We loved it.
This was good and possibly better if I had gotten the coconut milk and not unsweetened coconut milk. 😳 I prepped ahead but lets just say a lot of clean-up after the meal. The cooking part didn’t take long. This was my first try with curry so I expected a learning curve. I will try again.
Delicious had to make the following substitutions Tamarind paste - equal amount of lime juice and brown sugar Massaman curry paste - green curry paste
Everyone loved this! Definitely weekend meal to prep. Subs: red curry couldn’t find massaman, used remaining coconut milk on rice, found tamarind paste:), subbed soy for fish sauce. Was asked to make again!
I would give this recipe 10 stars if I could. One goal I have is for my family to eat vegetarian at least once a week. We made this recipe exactly as directed, however, I did add paneer in addition to the tofu. This was devoured by all three kids and it just *felt* like something my body loved. I think my kids liked that the curry was a little thinner, as two kids ate it more like a soup than a curry. I loved that the broccoli was a side dish and the style of preparation turned out really delicious. We are big fans of the "protein/side veggie/side carb" format of meal, and this is all that plus being vegetarian.