Massaman Curry
The gentle one: cinnamon, cardamom, peanuts and coconut, rich enough to feel like a hug. Massaman is usually a slow beef braise, so this version uses quick-cooking chicken thigh and small potatoes to get the same warm spice in nineteen minutes.
- Total time
- 19 min
- Serves
- 3
- Effort
- Medium
What you need
Written for 3 — nudge the counter and the numbers follow.
0 of 10 in the basket.
How you make it
Boil the quartered potatoes in salted water for 8 minutes until a knife slips in easily, then drain.
Meanwhile, boil 4 tbsp of the thick coconut cream in a wide pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes until it splits, then fry the curry paste in it for 2 minutes with the cinnamon stick.
Add the chicken and onion, stir to coat, then pour in the remaining coconut milk and simmer 8 minutes until the chicken is cooked through to 75C.
Add the drained potatoes, peanuts, fish sauce, tamarind and palm sugar, and simmer 3 minutes more so everything takes on the sauce.
Taste and adjust: it should land rich and mildly sweet with a tamarind tang behind it. Fish out the cinnamon stick and serve with rice.
Read all that and thought “absolutely not”?
Completely fair. Massaman Curry is sitting in the Thai kitchen right now, it costs nothing, and it will never arrive.
Order it insteadMore from the Thai kitchen
Sour, sweet, salty and hot arguing in the best way.