Massaman Curry
Thailand’s mildest and most complex curry — slow-braised beef with potato and roasted peanuts in a rich coconut milk sauce spiced with cinnamon, cardamom, and cumin. Voted the world’s best dish by CNN Travel in 2011. Not spicy — deep, sweet, and profoundly satisfying.
Ingredients
- 300 gbeef
- 2 potatoes
- 1 onion
- 1 tbspoil for frying
- 2 tbspmassaman curry paste
- 400 mlcoconut milk
- 2 tbsproasted peanuts
- 1 tbspfish sauce or soy sauce
- 1 tspsugar
- 0.5 lime, juice only
- fresh cilantro for serving
Method
- Heat oil in a pot. Fry the curry paste for 1–2 minutes, stirring, until fragrant.
- Add beef and onion and brown lightly until golden. Pour in the coconut milk, cover and braise gently for 30 minutes; if the sauce thickens too much, add a splash of water.
- Add potatoes, fish sauce, and sugar. Cook until potatoes are tender, 15–20 more minutes.
- Add peanuts and lime juice. Taste and adjust salt and heat. Serve with rice, topped with fresh cilantro.
FAQ
Massaman is Thailand’s mildest and most complex curry. It contains spices absent from other Thai curries: cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and cumin — Indian influence via Muslim traders. Green curry is the spiciest and freshest. Red is medium. Yellow is mild with turmeric. Massaman is deep, slightly sweet, and nutty.
Massaman paste is available in Asian grocery stores. To make from scratch: toast dry spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, cloves), blend with shallot, garlic, lemongrass, galangal, and chili. Ready-made paste gives 90% of the result for 10% of the effort.
In 2011 CNN Travel ranked massaman curry number one on their list of the world’s best foods. The reason is the unique combination of Thai cuisine with Indian spices, coconut milk with peanuts, and beef with potato. It is not spicy — it is deep and complex in flavor.
Chicken thighs work well and cook faster — about 30 minutes. Lamb is very authentic. For a vegetarian version replace the meat with chickpeas and sweet potato, use soy sauce instead of fish sauce, and check the curry paste label: many massaman pastes contain shrimp paste.
Shoulder or brisket needs at least 45–60 minutes of gentle braising. Tough meat means it is undercooked — the collagen has not yet converted to gelatin. Keep braising: another 15–20 minutes and the meat will start to yield and fall apart.
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Comments (2)
Массаман — самый ненормально вкусный карри в мире, и большинство людей о нём даже не слышали. Арахис добавляется целиком и тушится вместе с мясом, чтобы впитать все соки. Картофель режьте крупно — он не должен развалиться. И кокосовое молоко берите жирное, из банки, а не эту белую воду из картона.
I never cut into the beef to check doneness for massaman curry. A thermometer preserves the juices; a knife wound lets them escape. Every cut is flavor leaving the meat.