10 Minute Massaman Prawns with Rice Noodles

Packed with warm and sweet flavours, these Massaman prawns with noodles make a healthy, delicious family meal and take only 10 short minutes to make!

Massaman curry is a fantastically tasty fusion dish originating in Asia. I think fusion food can certainly be fabulous and this mild, sweet and flavourful curry is no exception! Drawing from tastes of Thailand, Persia, India and Malaysia, this curry has a coconut milk base and a range of different yummy spices including cardamon, cinnamon, cumin, bay and nutmeg. Peanuts are also used in this dish giving it a hint of ‘satay’ flavour which is lovely.

Often the protein used is chicken, which is delicious and versatile of course, although rather time consuming to cook. I’m all about the quick, so instead of chicken, I’ve used king prawns which pair beautifully with the flavours and cook in mere minutes!

I first came across Massaman paste in my quest to make a delicious curry suitable for people who aren’t fans of spicy foods – such as my 5 year old. (I’m a huge fan of chilli heat so although I gotta respect her mild-loving tastebuds, it’s kind of a shame!) But I found a real winner in this particular curry paste as it’s most definitely nice and mild, making it a tasty crowd pleaser.

I’m no stranger to Asian cuisine and I absolutely love creating recipes based on the traditional ingredients and flavours of this vibrant continent. For example, my 10 Minute Thai Green Tuna Fishcakes with Chilli and Lime Mayo and my 15 Minute Beef Ramen. Check these both out if you get the chance.

Asian inspired dishes are so often delicious and also healthy as they’re packed with colourful vegetables. But the main attraction for me is speed! You can create so many fantastic Asian dishes in a matter of minutes! I’m all about the quick with my recipes and this 10 minute Massaman prawn with noodle dish is absolutely no exception. A gorgeous curry ready from scratch in just 10 minutes?? Yes please!

As with all of my quick recipes, getting the correct ingredients is vital to creating a super fast and super tasty dish. Lets take a peek at each crucial ingredient and how they all blend together to create the perfect quick Massaman prawns with noodles…

Prawns

Prawns – or shrimp – are a fantastic quick ingredient! Delicious and juicy, they cook in a few short minutes, making them an ideal protein for many types of dish. There are lots of types of prawn available but I recommend using King prawns in this Massaman recipe. Although King prawns are a bit more expensive than standard types, they are just so much more delicious and juicy and they don’t dry out as easily as smaller types of prawn can do when cooked.

You can buy precooked prawns in shops which of course are super quick however I recommend using the raw variety as they absorb so much more yummy flavour than the pre-cooked type as you create your dish. Prawns also freeze extremely well. Bags of frozen prawns tend to be cheaper than fresh types so try and grab the pre-frozen kind if possible, then defrost before cooking. Alternatively, you can purchase the fresh variety and freeze them if you need to.

I always keep a packet of prawns to hand in my freezer as not only do they cook quickly, they defrost quickly as well making in the perfect ingredient for so many types of quick recipe!

Coconut cream

Coconut is the classic ingredient used in so many different types of Southeast Asian cuisine. Many curry recipes, including most Massaman curries, incorporate coconut milk. This comes in tins and typically consists of a thin, watery liquid crowned with a thicker coconut paste on top.

Coconut milk is very delicious but isn’t always a great quick cooking ingredient. Because it’s rather watery, you need to cook it down a fair amount to get a thick, curry-like texture. A time-consuming process! Therefore, in this 10 minutes Massaman prawn recipe I fully recommend using coconut cream instead of milk.

Coconut cream has all the flavour of coconut milk but it’s thicker, richer, and doesn’t require cooking down in the way that coconut milk does. So you end up with oodles of creamy texture and flavour with very minimal cooking time which makes it a perfect quick recipe ingredient! You also don’t need very much of it, meaning it’s very cost effective.

Rice Noodles

Ok, so you can pair your quick Massaman prawns with rice of course, but personally I’m a much bigger fan of noodles! There are lots of different type of noodle you can choose from – either egg or rice based. I enjoy rice based noodles the most of all. They originated in China more than 2,000 years ago and have retained their popularity in Asian dishes of all types to the modern day.

Mild in flavour and healthy, rice noodles are also super quick to cook! This is a major reason you’ll find them in this 10 minute recipe. Rice noodles come in different sizes but here, I’ve used fine rice noodles. These typically cook in only 3-4 minutes in a pan of boiling water so perfect to use here.

The Vegetables

With all of my savoury recipes, I am in an eternal quest to find vegetables that complement the dish, taste great, healthy and above all, are super quick to cook! In this 10 minute Massaman prawn with noodles recipe, I think I found that winning combination in the form of spinach and mangetout!

Both vegetables pack a super healthy punch and have a lovely mild flavour. The spinach adds to the creamy, silky texture of this dish (think about how yummy spinach is in an saag curry!) Whilst the mangetout adds a lovely crunch. Most importantly, neither vegetable requires any preparation beyond a quick wash (and often, bagged spinach these days is pre-washed already). All you need to do is toss them into your curry and job done! To make life even easier, I recommend using baby spinach rather than the regular type, as this tends to be sweeter, more tender and incredibly quick to cook.

The Flavours

The Massaman paste provides much of the delicious flavour in this recipe and combining it with coconut milk without any other flavourings would produce a decent enough curry. However, the flavour would be pretty bland.

I’m a big believer in boosting flavours wherever possible but without this costing you precious time and effort! For this reason, I’ve chosen four key added ingredients for these 10 minute Massaman prawns with noodles; peanut butter, fish sauce, brown sugar and lime juice. When combined, these give the irresistible classic combination of creamy, salty, sweet and sour that south east Asian cooking so often centres around.

Of course, there are plenty of other flavouring ingredients that can be added to really elevate your Massaman curry, but the more ingredients you add, the more complex and time consuming things tend to get! And so often ‘less is more’ when it comes to creating the perfect flavours in a recipe.

STEP BY STEP GUIDE TO MAKING THE PERFECT 10 MINUTE MASSAMAN PRAWNS WITH NOODLES

Now lets have a look at each of stage of making these delicious Massaman prawns, with useful photos along the way. Note this recipe makes enough for 2 people;

STEP 1;

To get started, put two fine rice noodle nests (100g / 3.5oz in total) into a medium pan and pour over boiling water to cover them fully. Bubble on high heat until cooked according to pack instructions. This is usually about 3-4 minutes.

STEP 2;

As the noodles cook, grab a wok or frying pan and put it on medium / high heat. To this, add 2 level tablespoons of Massaman paste, 2 level teaspoons of smooth peanut butter, 2 level teaspoons of brown sugar and 2 teaspoons of fish sauce. Finally, squeeze in the juice of half a lime. Give everything a good stir and heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

STEP 3

With the flavours all nicely combined and heating up, add 120g (4.2oz) of mangetout to the pan and cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly. The mangetout takes the longest to cook of all the other ingredients, which is why it’s added before the other ingredients.

STEP 4;

Now your noodles are probably all ready so grab a sieve or strainer and drain them. Set them aside for later.

We’re nearly finished! In your curry pan, add 6 tablespoons of coconut cream. (It’s a good idea to shake the pack first to mix it). Then add 150g (5.2oz) of raw king prawns and 150g (5.2oz) of baby spinach. Cook this all together for 2-3 minutes, stirring it all together regularly. You want to see the prawns turning pale pink and juicy, whilst the spinach wilts down nicely.

STEP 5;

While your curry finishes off cooking, divide the rice noodles between two serving dishes. You can use plates if you want, but I prefer bowls as the Massaman sauce is quite liquid and a bowl hold everything together better than a plate does.

Divide the curry mix evenly between both bowls. You can top with a handful of hand-torn coriander if you like (optional). Serve!