This Massaman Curry is perfect comfort food! Make extra and freeze some for a busy weeknight. Plus I’m sharing my tips on making a homemade massaman curry paste and including a video to walk you step by step through the process. If you were stranded on a desert island and you had only one type of food to eat for the rest of your life, what would you choose? For me, I think it has to be Thai food. Chocolate is probably a serious contender but that only satisfies my sweet tooth. Thai on the other hand? Hmmm the sweet/spicy/zesty/creamy combinations are endless. I love a quick green Thai chicken curry for a midweek meal, but a slow-cooked curry with lovely juicy chunks of meat that fall apart and the tastiest saucy potatoes? Now that’s something else entirely!!
What is Massaman Curry?
Traditional Massaman curry is a Thai curry that’s rich but relatively mild heat-wise. It contains lots of spices -which can vary from curry to curry, plus meat, potatoes and coconut cream or milk. I absolutely love Massaman - the beef version, my Lamb Massaman Curry Recipe and I also make one with a whole chicken. I’ll have to share it on here when I get the chance to photograph it.
How to make it
The recipe card and video are at the bottom of this post, but here are some step-by-step pictures to show you how to make this delicious curry: First make the Massaman Paste - into a food processor place red onion, chillies, ground coriander, cumin, cinnamon, white pepper, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, shrimp paste, fish sauce, brown sugar, salt and coriander (cilantro) stalks (save the leaves for sprinkling on top later). Blitz it all together. Now coat your beef in seasoned cornflour (cornstarch) and fry in a casserole pan over a high heat, with a little vegetable oil, until browned. Turn down the heat and add in the massaman paste you made earlier. Add in beef stock and coconut milk, stir it all together (scraping up any bits that might have stuck to the bottom of the pan) and bring to the boil. Simmer with the lid on (or place in the oven at 160C/320F) for 1 hour 45 mins. After this time, add the potatoes and cook for a further 30 minutes or so, with the lid off, until the sauce thickens and the potatoes are tender. Stir through the juice of a lime before serving. As you can see, I made the massaman curry paste for this meal from scratch. It’s pretty simple to do, but shop-bought curry paste works really well too. I’ve used Massaman, Korma and Madras paste (yes, I know the last two are Indian rather than Thai, it was what I had in at the time) and they all tasted great. If you do go with a shop-bought paste, I’d recommend you reduce the amount to about 4 tbsp, as shop-bought it usually more concentrated. Also, if you’re making this for kids or people who don’t like hot food, you can leave the chillies out of the paste, and just throw some chopped chillies in at the end, once you’ve dished out the non-chilli portions. It doesn’t give quite the same depth of heat but is a good compromise rather than making two pots of curry. Serve it with Boiled rice and if you’re feeling extra extravagant, some homemade chapatis too (only a special person can manage potatoes, rice AND bread :-D)!
The Video
Stay updated with new recipes!Subscribe to the newsletter to hear when I post a new recipe. I’m also on YouTube (new videos every week) and Instagram (behind-the-scenes stories & beautiful food photos). This recipe was first published in May 2014. Updated in October 2019 with new photos, video and cook’s tips. Updated in June 2020 with more information and for housekeeping. Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links – which means if you buy the product I get a small commission (at no extra cost to you). If you do buy, then thank you! That’s what helps us to keep Kitchen Sanctuary running. The nutritional information provided is approximate and can vary depending on several factors. For more information please see our Terms & Conditions.
A good Kitchen knife. I have recently bought this Dalstrong one and love it.Chopping BoardMini ChopperMeasuring JugDutch OvenJuicerMeasuring SpoonsGarlic PressWooden or Silicon Coated Spoons. We have just bought these and love them.Rice Steamer.
