Content

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1. Why This Recipe Works
2. Ingredients Required
3. How to Prepare Everything Before Cooking
4. Step-by-Step Cooking Instructions
5. A Few Tips From My Kitchen 
6. Common Mistakes to Avoid 
7. Variations
8. More Recipes to Try

Why This Recipe Works

• Mild curry: Massaman has less chili heat than many Thai curries, but still has plenty of spice and aroma.
• Rich coconut flavor: Reducing the coconut milk provides coconut oil for sautéing the curry paste.
• Tender chicken: Gentle simmering keeps the chicken tender as it absorbs the curry sauce.
• Balanced seasoning: Tamarind, palm sugar, and fish sauce give the curry its characteristic sweet, sour, and salty balance.
• Simple preparation: Store-bought Massaman curry paste makes this practical for a home-cooked batch.

Ingredients Breakdown

• Coconut milk: Use rich, full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream intended for cooking. It provides the coconut flavor and oil used to cook the curry paste.
• Massaman curry paste: Store-bought paste makes this recipe practical and already contains the main aromatics, spices, and salt.
• Chicken thighs: Chicken thighs remain tender during gentle simmering and absorb the curry sauce well.
• Potatoes and onion: The potatoes absorb the curry sauce as they cook, while the onion adds sweetness.
• Spices and seasonings: Cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, tamarind, palm sugar, and fish sauce give Massaman its distinctive balance of spice, sweetness, sourness, and saltiness.
• Roasted peanuts: They add a crunchy texture to the finished curry.

What Does Massaman Mean?

Massaman curry, or kaeng matsaman (แกงมัสมั่น), is now an established part of Thai cuisine. Its history is linked to Muslim cooking and the old trading routes connecting Siam with Persian, Indian, and Malay communities. The exact origin is debated, but the curry has been part of Thai cooking for several hundred years. The name Massaman is generally associated with an old term meaning Muslim, reflecting the dish’s historical connection with Muslim communities and trade routes.

Choosing the Right Coconut Milk or Coconut Cream

Coconut milk and coconut cream can be confusing because manufacturers use these terms differently. For this recipe, choose a rich, full-fat coconut milk or coconut cream intended for cooking, ideally with a fat content of around 23% or higher.

Avoid coconut milk sold as a beverage or drink, as it is much thinner and is not suitable for this recipe. Freshly pressed coconut milk or cream works well too. For packaged products, check the label for the fat content and ingredients before buying.

How to Prepare Everything Before Cooking

Chicken: Cut the 500g chicken thighs into suitable pieces for braising. Bone-in chicken can be used if preferred.

Potatoes and onion: Cut the potatoes into approximately 3 cm cubes and the onion into bite-size pieces.

Spices: Have the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves ready.

Tamarind: Soak the tamarind pulp in a small amount of hot water for about ten minutes. Work the pulp into the water, then remove the pulp and seeds and use the tamarind water.

Other ingredients: Measure the palm sugar and fish sauce, and have the roasted peanuts ready. Since the curry paste already contains salt, be careful with additional salty ingredients.

The complete ingredient quantities and measurements are provided in the recipe card below.

Step-by-Step Cooking Instructions

1. Reduce the coconut milk

Heat half of the coconut milk in a wok over low heat. Cook until it thickens and the coconut oil separates from the remaining water. Continue until most of the water has evaporated, leaving mainly coconut oil.

Use this oil to sauté the Massaman curry paste. If there is not enough, add some neutral cooking oil. If your packaged coconut milk contains stabilizers and does not separate easily, use neutral vegetable oil instead.

2. Sauté the curry paste and chicken

Add the Massaman curry paste to the coconut oil and sauté over low heat, stirring continuously so it does not stick.

When the paste becomes fragrant and the coconut oil begins to bubble around the edges, add the chicken and mix well. Add the fish sauce, palm sugar, and tamarind water, then taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Add the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves.

3. Simmer the chicken

Add the remaining coconut milk and bring the curry to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

If there is not enough liquid to keep the chicken properly submerged, add some hot water. Keep the heat low and avoid vigorous boiling.

4. Add the potatoes and onions

Add the potatoes and onions after the chicken has simmered for 20 minutes. Continue simmering for another 20 minutes, or until the chicken and potatoes are tender.

Add the roasted peanuts near the end if you want them to remain crunchy. Check the consistency of the gravy before serving. If it is too thin, continue reducing it until it reaches the thickness you prefer.

Variations

• Beef Massaman: Use beef instead of chicken, but allow more time for the beef to become tender. For bone-in beef, blanch it separately for ten minutes, skim off the scum, then transfer it to the curry to continue cooking.
• Softer peanuts: Add the roasted peanuts earlier if you prefer them soft and more infused with the curry sauce.

More Recipes to Try

Thai Green Curry – If you enjoy Thai curry but want something with more fresh herbs and chili, try my Thai Green Curry recipe.

Kapitan Chicken – This Nyonya chicken curry has Malaysian and Peranakan influences, with a rich, spiced character that makes it a good alternative to Massaman.

Panang Curry – Panang is another rich Thai curry, but it has a thicker sauce and a different balance of spices and chilies.

Quick Takeaways

Massaman curry is a mildly spicy, slightly sweet, and gently sour Thai chicken curry with tender chicken, potatoes, and roasted peanuts. It has a distinctive warm spice aroma and is practical to make at home.

How to Make Massaman Curry Paste From Scratch

If you are preparing a larger batch of Massaman curry, making your own curry paste can be worthwhile. For a small batch, I usually prefer store-bought paste because making it from scratch requires more than ten herbs and spices.

Homemade Massaman Curry Paste

For the homemade curry paste, you will need: 1 tbsp coriander seeds, roasted; 1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted; 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg; 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp cloves; 4 oz finely chopped shallots; 1 oz finely chopped garlic; 1 stalk finely sliced lemongrass; 1 tbsp finely chopped galangal; 1 tbsp finely sliced kaffir lime leaves; 1 tsp ground white pepper; 10 red chilies; 1 tbsp salt; 1–2 tbsp Thai shrimp paste; 4 green cardamom pods; and 100 g vegetable oil.

1. Place all the ingredients into an electric food processor and blend until you have a uniform paste.
2. Remove the seeds and inner parts of the dried chilies.
3. Roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dried chilies, and cardamom pods until fragrant.
4. Roast the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, and galangal until deeply browned.