Malay-Style Chicken & Sweet Potato Stew
Submitted by essgee
Malaysian-style chicken curry stew with sweet potatoes, coconut milk, and a warm spice blend of curry powder, cinnamon, cayenne, and cloves. A fragrant, hearty one-pot meal.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
90 minREADY
2 hrsThis Malaysian-inspired stew layers spice on spice. Chicken pieces get dredged in flour spiked with cayenne, cinnamon, and cloves, then browned until golden. That spiced crust locks in flavor before the chicken simmers for an hour in a curry-scented broth with chunky sweet potatoes.
The aromatics are generous. Ginger, garlic, curry powder, and fresh chili cook together until fragrant, creating a paste that flavors the entire pot. Five tablespoons of curry powder isn’t a typo. This stew is meant to be bold.
Coconut milk goes in at the very end, just a minute of simmering. Adding it earlier would dull its richness and let the fat separate. That final splash transforms the broth from a thin curry into something creamy and luxurious.
Fresh cilantro stirred in off heat brightens everything.
Pro Tips
- Brown the chicken in batches. Crowding the pot drops the temperature and you get steamed, pale chicken instead of golden, flavorful pieces.
- Use 1 quart of stock instead of the listed 2 quarts for a thicker, more concentrated stew. Two quarts makes it too thin.
- Cut sweet potatoes into large chunks. Small pieces dissolve into the broth after an hour of simmering.
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces give the best flavor. The bones add body to the broth and the skin renders fat during browning.
Variations
- Lamb version: Swap chicken for lamb shoulder cut into cubes. Increase the simmer time to 1 ½ hours for tender meat.
- Vegetarian: Skip the chicken, use vegetable broth, and add chickpeas and extra sweet potato for protein and bulk.
Ingredients
Directions
In a small bowl, combine the flour, cayenne, cinnamon and cloves and mix well.
Dredge the chicken pieces in the spiced flour. In a large, wide stockpot, heat the oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the chicken pieces in a single layer, being careful not to crowd the pan-work in batches if necessary. Cook until well browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. As the chicken is browned, remove to a platter.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onions, and cook until they just begin to color, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, curry powder, and chili. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more.
Add the stock, the browned chicken and the sweet potatoes, return to a simmer and cook for about an hour, covered, until a peek inside one of the pieces of chicken shows that it is cooked through.
Add the coconut milk and continue to cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add cilantro and serve.
Note: We used only 1 quart of stock and believe that the stated amount would make an unacceptably thin stew.
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