Lighter chicken massaman curry
50 min · 42 g protein · 531 cals / serving
The gentlest Thai curry and maybe the most comforting: tender chicken, soft potatoes and sweet squash in a rich, warmly spiced sauce of cinnamon, cardamom and tamarind, finished with a scatter of roasted peanuts. Light coconut milk and broth keep it silky without drowning it, so the spices come through. Mild enough for children, with chilli on the side for everyone else.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp canola oil
- 4 tbsp thai curry paste, massaman
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, or 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tsp cardamom, ground, or 4 pods, cracked
- 1 can (14 oz) light coconut milk
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 9 oz chicken thigh, in 4 cm (1 1/2-inch) chunks
- 1 1/4 lb chicken breast, in 4 cm (1 1/2-inch) chunks
- 1/2 lb gold potatoes, in 3 cm (1 1/4-inch) chunks
- 14 oz butternut squash, peeled, in 3 cm (1 1/4-inch) chunks
- 1 large onion, in thick wedges
- 1 tbsp tamarind, tamarind paste
- 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp brown sugar, or palm sugar
- 3/4 lb green beans, trimmed, halved
- 2 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped
To serve
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup jasmine rice, rinsed and cooked
Steps
- Heat the oil in a large, deep pan over medium heat. Fry the curry paste, cinnamon and cardamom, stirring, for 2 minutes until the paste darkens and smells toasty. Add 2 bay leaves if you have them.
- Stir in the coconut milk and broth until smooth, add the chicken thighs and bring to a simmer.
- Add the potatoes, squash, onion, tamarind, fish sauce and sugar. Simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are nearly tender.
- Add the chicken breast and green beans and simmer 6–8 minutes more, until the potatoes are soft, the sauce has thickened and the breast is cooked through (165°F). Taste: it should be gently sweet, sour and salty. Add more tamarind or fish sauce to balance.
- Serve over jasmine rice with the peanuts and cilantro scattered on top.
Good to know
Why thighs and breast?
Thighs go in early and turn meltingly soft while the potatoes cook; breast goes in at the end so it stays juicy. All thighs is richer, at about 60 instead of 64, and all breast works if you add it in step 4.
Where do I find massaman paste?
Most supermarkets with a Thai shelf carry it in jars or small tins. Brands vary in heat and salt, so taste before adding all the fish sauce.
Can I make it ahead?
It is better the next day. Keep it 3 days in the fridge and reheat gently with a splash of broth, as the potatoes drink up the sauce.
Per
- Calories
- 89
- Protein
- (33%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (29%)
- 3 g
- Carbohydrates
- (38%)
- 9 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 240 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 2656 kcal goes into the pot and 3296 g of ingredients comes out as about 3000 g of food: 89 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.