Massaman curry is a unique Thai curry that is not fiercely hot.  It is is a rich curry of Persian origin which has been wonderfully assimilated into the classic Thai cuisine in the Southern region of Thailand.  

Chicken massaman curry is ideal for people who want to try the authentic Asian flavor, yet do not wish to bear the burning hot feeling of most curries, such as Thai green curry. It also shares some similarity with Nyonya cuisine called chicken kapitan due to the proximity to Malaysia.

The dish has a signature sour note from tamarind pulp, and its name is derived from the Malay word masam, which means “sour.”

I am using the store-bought Massaman curry paste in this recipe.  You also have a choice to make the curry paste from scratch if you are interested, which I have the recipe in the following section. Either way, you will love the wonderful flavor of this cuisine, which was voted the world’s top ten most delicious food by the readers of CNN Travel in 2011.

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How to cook the perfect Massaman curry

1. Use fresh coconut milk (if available)

Coconut milk plays a vital role in Massaman curry. The fat content and flavor of freshly pressed coconut milk are different from the processed coconut milk in cans or packets. I use fresh coconut milk directly bought from the local market for this recipe. Adjust the amount if you use canned or packaged coconut milk. The amount can be significantly varied from one Massaman curry recipe to another. You can use the general guideline of 300 ml of coconut milk for 1 kg of meat.

Cook down the coconut milk

Pour half of the coconut milk into a pan. Simmer the coconut milk over low heat until it thickens and the coconut oil starts to separate from the water phase.

Coconut milk is an emulsion. When it heats up, the oil and water will start to separate into two layers. Cook further until the water is mostly evaporated and only the oil is left behind. Use the coconut oil to cook the Massaman curry paste and saute until it turns aromatic.

If you use enough coconut milk, the coconut oil is enough to saute the curry paste. However, you can add some cooking oil if there is too little coconut oil remains.

2. Add the curry paste

If you use any store-bought Massaman curry pastes, be conservative when adding other seasonings as they have added with salt during production.

The flavors of the massaman curry paste (nam phrik kaeng matsaman) come from various dry spices seldom used in Thai cuisines such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, bay leaves, and nutmeg. These spices are combined with other common Thai ingredients such as galangal and lemongrass.

How to make the massaman curry paste

I suggest you use the store-bought curry paste if you only want to cook a small serving of the curry. It is not practical to make it from scratch since you need more than ten different herbs and spices to make the curry paste.

If you’re making a larger batch for a party, then you can follow the recipe below to create your own blend.

Massaman Curry Paste (make from scratch)

Massaman curry ingredients:
1 tbsp coriander seed, roasted
1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted
1/2 tsp nutmeg, grated
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
4 oz shallots, finely chopped
1 oz garlic, finely chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, finely sliced
1 tbsp galangal, finely chopped
1 tbsp kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced
1 tsp ground white pepper
10 red chilies
1 tbsp salt
1-2 tbsp Thai shrimp paste
4 green cardamom pods
100 g vegetable oil

Instructions:
– Remove the seeds and inner bits of the dry chilies.
– Roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dry chili, and cardamom pods until fragrant.
– Roast the shallot, garlic, lemongrass, and galangal until deep brown.
– Put all the ingredients into an electric food processor and blend until it forms a uniform paste.

3. Add the chicken, potatoes and more coconut milk,

Add the curry paste to the coconut oil. You will notice the coconut oil will bubbling at the edge of the curry paste. When that happens, proceed to add the chicken.

Now you can add the remaining coconut milk and braised the chicken. Add some water if there is not enough coconut milk to submerge the chicken fully for braising.

Chicken

Chicken is the most popular meat to cook Massaman curry with but beef, lamb and mutton are equally common in Thailand.

Bone-in chicken (or beef) is preferred over meat alone since the bone will release more flavor to the curry. Braising the bone will extract flavor just like the process of making stocks.

Use beef instead of chicken. You can use this same recipe to make beef massaman curry, but you need to braise the beef longer until it is soft and tender. Blanch the beef (bone-in) in a separate pot for ten minutes, skim off the scum floating on the surface and then only transfer to the pot to braise with other ingredients.

Potatoes

Serve immediately

If you want to serve the Massaman curry immediately, you can braise the chicken for fifteen minutes, add the potatoes and continue for another 20 minutes. By doing this, the chicken and potatoes will cook to the right level at the same time.

Serve later

If you intend to eat it a day later, you can cook the chicken alone without the potatoes. Let the chicken cool down and store it in the chiller (or freezer if you intend to keep it longer). When you want to serve, cook the potatoes in a pot of water until they are tender.  Drain the potatoes, add them to the chicken curry and cook for another five minutes until the potatoes absorb the flavor of the curry.

Onion

Cut a medium-sized onion into bite-size and add into the pot at this point. Some people would brown the onion first, which I find that the difference is not significant.

4.  Add the seasonings

You can add the remaining spices and seasonings anytime while braising the chicken.

Add the cardamom, cinnamon stick and bay leaves to simmer with the chicken.

It is best to use the whole spices to prepare the Massaman curry paste.  Alternatively, use freshly ground spices for making the paste, as the flavor of spices will be lost over time.

There are a few less commonly used items in non-Asian recipes which I would like to explain :

Tamarind juice

Place the tamarind in a small amount of hot water. Let it sits for ten minutes to let the flavor diffuse into the water.  Discuss the pulp and seeds and only use the tamarind water.

Since the exact amount of the tamarind is difficult to determine, the most practical way is to do a taste test to decide how sour you prefer.

You can use the tamarind concentrate is fresh tamarind is not available. This concentrate tends to be stronger so you may need a smaller amount.

As for the tamarind juice, it also depends on how concentrated it is and how sour is the tamarind pulp that you use.

Palm sugar

Palm sugar has a unique aroma.

If palm sugar is not available, you can use brown sugar and adjust the sweetness.  

Fish sauce

Fish sauce is salty, so there is no need to include salt in this recipe.

The balance of sweetness, sourness, and saltiness will create the unique flavor of Massaman curry. This unique massaman curry flavor can be achieved by fine-tuning the flavor by using palm sugar, tamarind juice, and fish sauce. Do a taste test before serving is the best option.

Simmer the meat over low heat as high heat can toughen the meat. Since the water will be reduced gradually during braising, you may need to add some water to keep the chicken and potatoes submerge in the water. Add only hot water so that there won’t cause a sudden drop in temperature.

5. Roasted peanut

When the chicken and potatoes have become soft, add the roasted peanuts to the curry. The peanuts will remain crunchy when served. You can add the peanuts together with the potatoes if you prefer soft peanuts.

6. Taste test and serve

Adjust the saltiness, sourness, and sweetness at the end of the cooking process to get the right taste.  The level of saltiness of different brands of fish sauce is different.

Check also whether the thickness of the gravy is what you want. You can reduce the gravy if it is too diluted.

If you like this curry, you make also like to try another Thai curry, such as green curry Follow this link to check it out.

Let’s cook Massaman curry…

Massaman curry is relatively mild with fewer chilies used compared to other curries.  The curry is slowly cooked until the meat is tender, and sprinkling some crunchy peanuts on it at the end of cooking makes it heavenly tasty.

Massaman curry is one of those few dishes that sit very well and develop complexity and depth with time. Therefore, it is best to make it ahead to enable the flavor to fully develop before serving, which makes it a perfect dish for quick dinners. It is also an elegant dish to serve for weeknight meals or parties.

The massaman curry tastes great if you let it sit overnight after the flavor penetrates deeply into the meat and potatoes.