Massaman Curry

A fusion between Thai, Indian, and Malaysian cuisines, this mildly sweet curry features tender braised beef, potatoes, and onions simmered in a richly spiced, aromatic coconut broth. Served over rice, there’s nothing more satisfying and delicious. 

Read on for more tips and information on this classic curry. If you’re looking to expand your curry repertoire, check out this easy chicken curry—it’s another favorite!

What is massaman curry?

Massaman curry is a sweet, mild curry. While it’s commonly known as a Thai curry, it’s heavily influenced by Indian and Malaysian cuisines, so it contains the warming spices classically found in Indian curries as well as typical Thai curry ingredients, such as galangal, lemongrass, and fish sauce. It’s traditionally made with chicken or beef and usually contains chunks of potatoes, shallots (or onions), and peanuts. 

Is this curry spicy?

Not really. Of all the Thai curries, massaman is the sweetest and most mild. Most of the spices used are warm and aromatic, not necessarily spicy (think cinnamon, star anise, cumin, and cardamom), and the rich coconut milk balances out any kick that comes from the curry paste.

How are we cooking the beef?

This recipe calls for chuck roast, a tough cut of beef which is typically used in long-cooked stews and pot roasts. The long cooking time allows the collagen and intermuscular fat in the meat to break down, yielding fork-tender meat. Here we’re cooking the beef as you would in any typical stew: browning it in large steaks before breaking it down into smaller pieces (we call for 1" cubes) and then simmering until it becomes tender. 

How are we cooking out the curry paste?

In Thai cuisine, curry pastes are cooked out in coconut fat that has been “cracked,” or cooked until the water evaporates and the oil separates. The curry paste fries in the coconut oil until it releases all its aromatics into the oil, and this becomes the base of flavor to build the curry upon.

Made this? Let us know how it went in the comments below!