THAI MASAMAN CHICKEN, "GAENG MASAMAN GAI"

Thai Masaman Chicken,

Provided by Diego G.

Categories Curries

Time 1h15m

Yield 4 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 14

1 lb chicken, cut into the usual bite sized pieces (you can also use pork or beef)
3 cups coconut milk
2 tablespoons unsalted dry roasted peanuts
5 peeled peeled but whole small onion
5 small potatoes, peeled and partly boiled
3 bay leaves
5 cardamom seeds
1 small cinnamon stick, roasted
2 tablespoons palm sugar
1 tablespoon tamarind paste, mixed with
2 1/2 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons lime juice
2 -3 tablespoons masaman curry paste
1 -3 teaspoon garlic, crushed. (optional)

Steps:

Peel potatoes, boil them partly in a cooking pot for 10-15 minutes, and cut in 1 to 2-inch pieces.
Allow the coconut milk to separate and you will have about two cups of thick "cream" and one cup of
thin "milk". In a small saucepan bring the milk to a simmer and add the chicken or pork. If you are
using beef you will need another two cups of milk. Simmer the meat until it begins to become tender
(beef takes longer, hence the additional milk).
Put the coconut cream in a wok and bring to a boil, add the massaman paste and "stir fry" until the
flavor is brought out and maximized. Add the remaining cream and curry paste to the meat.
Add the peanuts. Taste and adjust the flavor until it is (just) sweet (by adding sugar), sour and salty
(by adding tamarind juice, lime juice and fish sauce).
Add the remaining ingredients and cook until cooked.
Note : the potatoes used in Thailand for this dish are a yellow fleshed sweet potato of the type sometimes
called a yam in the US. Western style potatoes can be used, but absorb less of the sauce and flavor.
The potatoes act as a "moderator" to reduce the heat of the curry, and should not be left out.
You can either serve it on a bed of Thai jasmine rice, or double the amount of potato and serve it alone.