Mussamun Currry

My husband and I love to go out for Thai and Indian food and curries are our favorite dishes to get.  I have made a few curries at home but I'm often intimidated to try something new.  I get worried that the prep will be too long (my meal preparing has to be quick these days with a baby crawling all over the place and into everything), that I won't be able to find the spices and ingredients, and that I'll mess it up somehow.  I promise you, this recipe is really simple and can be easily incorporated into your regular meal routine.

Prepared mussamun curry paste is pretty readily available.  You can likely find it in an Asian market and even regular grocery stores can carry it.  If you can't find it, it looks like Amazon even sells some.

I got the recipe from this book and just made a couple minor changes to healthify it a bit.  Mussamun is traditionally made with beef, but I used chicken.  Feel free to substitute beef if you'd like.  This recipe makes a lot! I made half of the following recipe for the two of us the other night and we had plenty of leftovers, enough for dinner the next night and then some.

Gaeng Mussamun (Mussamun Curry)

1 pound chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
3 cups coconut milk (I always use low-fat)
1/4 cup mussamun curry paste
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth 
3 medium potatoes, washed and cut in bite-sized chunks (about 2 cups)
1 large onion, large dice (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 Tbs. fish sauce
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 cup unsalted peanuts
1tsp. lime zest 
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice

In a large saucepan or skillet, bring 1 cup of the coconut milk to a gentle boil over medium heat.  Cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly thickened.  Add the curry paste  and cook for another few minutes, stirring to incorporate it into the coconut milk.  Add the chicken and cook another 3 minutes, tossing to coat it with the sacuce.

Add the remaining 2 cups of coconut milk, chicken broth, potatoes, onion, fish sauce, brown sugar, and salt and bring to a gentle boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.  Stir in the peanuts, lime zest and juice.  Serve warm over basmati rice.  Enjoy!