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Thailand, Asia · Massaman Curry

Massaman Chicken Loaded Fries

Crisp oven fries piled with a thick massaman chicken curry, then finished with coconut cream, crushed peanuts and lime-pickled red onion: a sharing snack.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time47 min
DifficultyEasy

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 220 °C (oven). Scrub the potatoes, leave the skins on and cut them into 1 cm thick batons. Rinse in cold water to wash off the surface starch, then dry them really thoroughly with kitchen paper; wet potatoes will not crisp. Toss the potatoes with the oil and salt in a large bowl.

    Add in this stepFloury potatoes 500 gNeutral oil 1½ tbspSalt 0.4 tsp

    oven

  2. Spread the potatoes in a single layer, not overlapping, on 1 baking tray(s) lined with baking paper. Bake in the oven (oven) for , turning them once halfway. They are ready when deep golden and they sound crisp when tapped.

    oven

  3. While the fries bake, slice the red onion paper-thin and toss it with the lime juice and a little salt. After about 10 minutes it turns pink, loses its harshness and tastes bright and tangy.

    Add in this stepRed onion 60 gFresh lime juice 1½ tbspSalt ⅛ tsp

  4. Cut the chicken into small 1.5 cm cubes. Set a 24 cm frying pan on medium heat, add the thick cream from the top of the coconut milk and simmer for until oil seeps out, then add the curry paste and fry for until fragrant.

    Add in this stepCoconut milk (unsweetened, unshaken) 72 mlMassaman curry paste 1½ tbsp

    medium heat

  5. Add the chicken and most of the remaining coconut milk (keep 2–3 tablespoons back for drizzling) and cook on medium heat for , stirring, until reduced. Season with the fish sauce and palm sugar, and turn off the heat once the chicken is cooked through and the sauce is thick enough to sit on top of the fries.

    Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs 240 gCoconut milk (unsweetened, unshaken) 81 mlFish sauce 1½ tspPalm sugar (or light brown sugar) 1½ tsp

    medium heat

  6. Roughly chop the peanuts and coriander and thinly slice the chilli. Pile the fries on a large plate, spoon over the massaman chicken and drizzle with the reserved coconut milk. Scatter with peanuts, pickled onion, coriander and chilli and serve straight away.

    Add in this stepCoconut milk (unsweetened, unshaken) 27 mlRoasted peanuts (unsalted) 30 gFresh coriander (cilantro) 6 gRed chilli 1

Cook's tip

Fries are crispest straight from the oven, so add the curry only just before eating. Short on time? Bake frozen fries according to the packet. Sweet potato fries suit massaman's sweetness too.

Cooking it at camp

Instead of the oven, fry the potatoes in a cast-iron pan on the grill with plenty of oil, turning often. Make the curry at home so it only needs reheating. Dry the potatoes well so hot oil does not spit.