I don't know about you, but I'm always looking for quick recipes that I can whip up without hassle during the weekdays. This quick 30-minute chicken masaman curry with peanuts and coconut just hits the spot for me. I mean, who doesn't love curries, right? Every day should be curry day!
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Recipe Highlights
Texture and flavor - Creamy curry sauce with mild spices and slightly sweet and nutty flavors.
Size - 2-3 people, depending on what you have it with. Stretch it by accompanying it with my perfectly cooked jasmine rice, flatbreads, and our refreshing Asian cucumber and pineapple salad.
Level - Easy. Prep your ingredients first (minor chopping tasks), and cooking will not take more than 30 minutes, just like my Chinese steamed fish, air fryer chicken skewers with peanut sauce, and beef korma!
Occasion - Perfect if you're a beginner and trying to explore the world of curries.
Why This Recipe?
This quick recipe is still preserving the essence flavors of a massaman curry and you can enjoy it without the hassles of making the massaman curry paste. We've also simplified our pho recipe but still preserved its amazing essence in our easy beef pho recipe.
Massaman curry paste is quite laborious (trust me, I did it) to prepare as most of the herbs and spices used for the paste are dry-toasted or charred first. Not to mention the different spices that you need to have to make it.
I'm using Thai red curry paste as the base and I'm modifying the flavors by adding just a few more spices to bring it as close as it can to a massaman curry.
PRO CURRY LOVER TIP: If possible, make it a day before. The flavors go up a notch the next day.
Lets Talk Ingredients
Red curry paste - I use a strong red curry paste. If you're using a mild one like Thai Kitchen, feel free to use from 2-3 tbsp.
Fish sauce - Don't get scared of it, your dish won't taste fishy. It gives our curry a wonderful umami flavor.
SUBSTITUTION: Use the same amount of soy sauce.
Fennel seed - If you love making curries then I'm sure you will have this in your pantry. It gives the curry a subtle delicious touch of licorice, just like in my Malaysian chicken satay.
SUBSTITUTION: Use the same amount of cumin seeds, caraway seeds, or 1 star anise.
Peanut butter - I use natural 100% peanut butter like in my peanut sauce stir-fry noodles, but you can use whichever you have.
Coriander powder - It's a mild-tasting spice and has this earthiness and slightly sweet flavor to it, which goes great in this recipe.
SUBSTITUTION: Although it's not the same you could use the same amount of cumin powder. Cumin powder is slightly stronger and bitter but still has the earthy taste.
More Curry Recipes
- Quick vegan lentil and coconut curry
- Quick Malaysian red curry laksa noodles
- Vegan green curry dumplings
- Slow cooker chicken rendang curry
Recipe Video
📖 Recipe
Quick 30-Minute Chicken Massaman Curry
Video
Ingredients
Sautee
- 1 lemongrass , bruised
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 shallot , thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
Spices
- ½ tablespoon strong red curry paste (10 g)
- 2 tablespoon natural peanut butter (35 g)
- ½ tablespoon coriander powder
- ⅓ cup water (80 ml)
The Rest
- 1 medium sized potato , peeled and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes
- 3 small sized carrot , peeled and cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast , cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) cubes
- 1 cup chicken broth (250 ml)
- ½ can coconut milk (200 ml)
Seasoning
- ½ tablespoon coconut sugar
- ½ tablespoon fish sauce
Instructions
- Heat some coconut oil (or any oil of choice) in a pot on medium heat. Add in all sautee ingredients and cook until the shallot is golden brown.
- Now add in all the spices ingredients and mix everything well. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Then add in the rest of the ingredients, give it a mix, bring it to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potato is fully cooked.
- Finally add in the seasonings and give it one last mix. Adjust to taste. Serve hot with some rice or flatbreads and veggies. Optional, sprinkle some crushed peanuts and coriander leaves on top. Enjoy!
Nancy says
I doubled the recipe because I wanted to use the whole can of coconut milk.
I'm glad I did because we loved it. Thanks love!
Bea says
Right, agree! I do it also and we have leftovers or I freeze some. Happy that everybody loved it, thanks Nancy!
Peter says
I made this following your substitution tips (used soy sauce, cumin seeds and 3 table spoon of Thai Kitchen paste). The curry turned out amazing. Surprisingly easy, to be honest. I also used chicken thighs for more flavour. Thanks.
Bea says
Yeay 🙌! Happy that it turned out great and you liked it. Thank you for your feedback, Peter. Do check around our website for more quick dinner ideas.