Southeast Asian Inspiration: Massaman Curry
I don't make curry that often. It's a serious commitment to chop up multiple kinds of vegetables and invest in several kinds of spices. However, after having a bite of my fellow Indonesian nutrition classmate's curry a few weeks ago, I developed a craving for the spicy, sweet, savory, and coconutty flavors of Southeast Asian curry.
If you're not really looking to commit to ounces of curry powder or if you have limited knowledge of the different types (like me), I suggest just looking for curry paste in Asian supermarkets. Also, instead of canned cream of coconut, I bought a box of coconut cream powder. It's so much more convenient, I use it whenever I can incorporate it into a recipe now!
Massaman chicken curry
1-2lb chicken wings (feel free to use any other type of meat; lamb and beef are great alternatives)
1 small can massaman curry (already contains several other spices like cardamom, turmeric, cumin, tamarind)
2 cups coconut cream
1 bundle Chinese long bean, cut1 eggplant, cubed
2 carrots, chopped
2 potatoes, peeled and cubed
8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled
4-5 shallots, minced
2-3 stems of bay leaf
1 tbs ginger, slivered
2 tsp lemongrass powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbs chili paste (if you want it spicy; I used gochu jang)
3 tbs vegetable oil
1. Before preparing all the vegetables, marinate the chicken in lemon grass powder, garlic powder, and cinnamon. (Optional: mix in a quarter tsp of baking soda) Prepare vegetables as you let chicken marinate.
2. In a heated non stick pot, heat vegetable oil with garlic, ginger, and shallots. Once browned, add the can of curry paste. Once it is all incorporated, add a cup of the coconut cream and bay leaves and bring to a boil.
3. Add the long bean, carrots, and potato to the curry. Bring to a low boil for half an hour.
4. Add the other cup of coconut cream and once it all comes to a boil, add the chicken and eggplant. Add salt and sugar.
5. Leave at a low-medium boil for another twenty to thirty minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
✓ fiber
✓ vegetables
✓ Vitamin A
✓ vegetables
✓ Vitamin A
✓ Vitamin C
✓ low sodium
✓ antioxidants
✓ antioxidants
I served it with jasmine rice, but this would also go great with bread or noodles (Vietnamese style), and I could always use some roti canai (Malaysian style).
