Quick Chicken Curry with Rice
Nine ounces of frozen broccoli is the biggest ingredient in this curry. More than the chicken, more than the rice. It goes in straight from the freezer, simmers in coconut milk and curry spice for ten minutes, and comes out tender. 684 calories, 34g of protein. The brown rice and broccoli add 11g of fiber, and the whole thing takes twenty minutes.
The chicken and curry powder do the flavor work. Sautéed together in olive oil, the spices bloom before the coconut milk goes in. Seven ingredients total, no specialty items, and the only prep is chopping half a chili pepper and cubing the chicken.
Ingredients
- brown rice 3 ounces
- chili pepper 0.5
- chicken breast 3 ounces
- olive oil 1 tablespoon
- curry powder 1 teaspoon
- coconut milk 1.5 fluid ounces
- broccoli florets (frozen) 9 ounces
Method
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Cook the rice according to the package instructions.
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Remove the seeds from the chili pepper and finely chop it. Cut the chicken breast into cubes.
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Heat the oil in a sauté pan and sauté the chili with curry powder.
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Add the chicken to the curry mixture and cook for 3–5 minutes over medium heat. Add the coconut milk and broccoli florets and stir well. Let the curry simmer gently for another 8–10 minutes with the lid on the pan. Add a splash of water if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.
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Serve the rice with the chicken curry.
Sauté the curry powder in the olive oil for the full minute in Step 3 before adding chicken. The yellow in curry powder comes from turmeric, and its active compound dissolves in fat, not water. When researchers compared absorption, the fat-delivery version reached the bloodstream at 44 times the concentration of turmeric taken without fat. The oil sauté handles this automatically.
Why This Works
Behind this recipe
Can I use fresh broccoli instead of frozen?
Yes. Fresh broccoli works the same way — cut it into florets first and add it at the same point in Step 4. Frozen broccoli skips the washing and cutting, and for most nutrients research shows minimal difference between frozen and fresh. The one exception is sulforaphane: commercially frozen broccoli loses the enzyme needed to form it during blanching before freezing. Fresh broccoli retains that enzyme. For the full breakdown, see our Short on frozen vs. fresh broccoli.
Is 34 grams of protein enough for one meal?
34 grams falls comfortably within the range most research considers effective for stimulating muscle protein synthesis per meal. The exact threshold depends on factors like body weight, age, and activity level. For a deeper look at how much protein your body can actually use in one sitting, see our breakdown of the per-meal protein limit.
Read the full evidence reviewDoes the half chili pepper make this spicy?
Mildly. Half a chili pepper with seeds removed adds warmth without real heat. If you prefer less, use a quarter. If you want more, leave some seeds in or add a second half. The coconut milk also softens the spice level during the simmer.
