Slow cooker beef massaman

Preparation

Suzanne gets Darran back into the kitchen and cooking the food he loves. With a little preparation and a slow cooker, her Thai Massaman Curry will free up time on busy evenings and take the stress out of meal planning. After a small amount of prep, all Darran needs to do is pop the ingredients into his slow cooker and let it bubble away throughout the day and dinner is sorted. Plus, there's a second batch packed away in the freezer for when he needs.

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then brown the beef all over in batches. Meanwhile, peel the sweet potatoes and cut into small chunks.
2. Add the browned beef and sweet potatoes to your slow cooker with the remaining ingredients (crumble the stock cube first), except for the cornflour and rice. Pour in 150ml water and mix well.
3. Pop the lid on and cook for 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low, stirring a couple of times.
4. To thicken the sauce, mix the cornflour with 1 tablespoon of water. Strain the curry sauce into a saucepan, bring to a simmer, then slurry in the cornflour mixture. Simmer for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until thickened. Stir the beef and vegetables back into the curry, then serve with jasmine rice (or freeze, as below).
To freeze:
5. Add the beef to a large labelled freezer bag and add the rest of the ingredients to a separate freezer bag, slot the bag of beef inside, then seal and freeze flat.
Cooking from frozen:
6. Defrost and cook as instructed above.