Masaman Curry Basil Chicken

Here’s another easy to make coconut-curry chicken dish. As I stated in the Panang Curry Chicken Wing Stew recipe, I began using Maeseri brand (Masaman) curry in my curry dishes because they come in single use cans and in a variety of flavors. The chicken is marinated, but that step can easily be omitted if you’re in a hurry. The carrots are cut relatively thin so that they can cook quickly with the chicken. The broccoli florets are added at the end of cooking and are just cooked long enough so that there’s still some crunch to them (i.e. broccoli florets get mushy if cooked too long).

Enjoy!

Ingredients

¾ lb.	375 g.	Chicken thigh or breast meat (雞肉, gai1 juk6), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 lb.	500 g.	Broccoli florets (西蘭花, sai1 laan4 faa1), cut into individual pieces
½ lb.	250 g.	Carrots (紅蘿蔔, hung4 lo4 baak6), cut in half lengthwise and then into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
2	2	Red potatoes (薯, syu4), cut in half and then into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1	1	Onion (洋蔥, joeng4 cung1), cut into quarters
1 cup	250 ml.	Fresh basil leaves (紫蘇, zi2 sou1)
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

4 oz.	114 g.	One can Maesri brand Masaman curry paste or equivalent
14 oz.	400 ml.	One can coconut milk
4 oz.	115 ml.	Water to wash out the coconut milk can

 

Equipment

6 qt.	5.7 L.	Dutch oven

 

Maesri Brand Masaman Curry Paste

Preparation Instructions

1. Prepare the chicken thigh or breast meat by removing any skin or bones, and cut the chicken into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces. Marinate the chicken in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the chicken overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. Wash and separate the broccoli florets.
3. Wash and cut the red potatoes in half, and then cut each half into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
4. Wash and cut the carrots in half lengthwise, and then cut each half into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
5. Wash the fresh basil stalks and then separate the leaves.
6. Open the Masaman curry paste and coconut milk cans.

Cooking Instructions

1. Add oil to a Dutch oven and heat over medium- to medium-high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the Masaman curry paste to the Dutch oven and stir fry. Add the coconut milk to the Dutch oven, wash out the coconut milk can with water, and add the water to the Dutch oven. Increase the heat to high, bringing the mixture in the Dutch oven to a boil. Don’t use too much water or it will dilute the curry-coconut mixture.
2. Add the chicken pieces and carrots to the Dutch oven. When the mixture comes to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Uncover the Dutch oven, and add the broccoli florets to the Dutch oven. Increase the heat to high to bring the mixture to a boil and cover before reducing the heat to low to simmer for another 5 minutes.
4. Uncover the Dutch oven, stir in the basil leaves, turn off the heat, put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish, and serve with steamed rice.