Freezing coconut curry

[KennethT]

Most nights (especially during the week) my wife and I have very little free time between coming home from work and getting ready for bed.  Because of this, most of our weekday meals are a rotation of dishes that we can make the sauces over the weekend in large quantity (say 4-8 meals worth), then once home, quickly fry/bake some chicken thighs, make some rice in the rice cooker, add the reheated sauce and dinner is done.

 

Lately, I've wanted to expand our rotation by adding some coconut curries - like Thai or Malaysian style.  I know that the curry paste freezes well, and have done that many times.  And I know that raw coconut milk freezes well, as the best quality ones I've seen are frozen vacuum sealed pouches from Thailand - unlike the canned variety, they have no preservatives or emulsifiers and taste as close to fresh squeezed as I've had.

 

I'm wondering if you could pre-make a large batch of curry - either the more soupy kind - like a thai curry, or a relatively dry kind - like a rendang, portion, and freeze.  Then, quickly reheat on the stovetop, or seal chicken in a ziplock with the curry and cook in the waterbath over the weekend, then freeze the whole thing for a quick dinner that reheats in the bath while the rice is cooking.

 

Has anyone done anything like that?  How were the results?

[Shalmanese]

Yes, curries freeze very well. In general, I've found for best quality, it's best to freeze curries at the 80% cooked stage. Most curry recipes will have you add the bulk of the ingredients at the start of the cook and then add certain ingredients towards the end like potatoes/green beans/herbs/peas etc. Portion off a small amount of the curry that you intend to eat that night and add the late stage ingredients. Let the rest of the curry cool and then freeze, adding in the late stage ingredients after defrosting. 

[kayb]

What he said. I haven't tried freezing in plastic bags and SV'ing, but I freeze in foil trays, over rice, and pop the whole frozen tray in the CSO when I come in the door. Then I can go about changing clothes, doing whatever else needs to be done, having a drink, etc. About 45 minutes at 350 from frozen for a 4 x 6 x 2 inch tray, frozen solid. You could cut that time if you moved them from freezer to fridge the night before.