Beef Massaman Curry
THAI · THAILAND

Beef Massaman Curry

แกงมัสมั่นเนื้อMain

Beef braised until it gives way under a spoon, in a coconut gravy scented with cinnamon, cardamom and roasted peanuts. Sweet, sour, faintly hot and deeply rich, the way a Thai-Muslim kitchen in the south makes it.

Total
135 min
Heat
3/5
Serves
4

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Flavour profile

Heat
Funk
Acid
Richness
Umami
  • Nutty
  • Rich
  • Savoury
  • Sweet

The real deal

Region
Thailand's Muslim south, from the Persian-Indian trade route via the Malay peninsula; massaman is the one Thai curry cooked like a stew.
Technique
Crack the coconut cream until it splits and fry the paste in the oil, then braise the beef slow and add the second coconut milk late so the gravy stays unctuous instead of grainy.
We kept
Cinnamon, cardamom, clove and star anise whole, roasted peanuts, tamarind and palm sugar; nothing tamed.

Ingredients

4 Serves

Braise

  • 900 g · cut into large chunks
  • 400 ml
  • 400 ml
  • 5 tbsp

Aromatics

  • 1
  • 3 · bruised
  • 4
  • 2
  • 1
  • 2

seasoning

  • 3 tbsp
  • 30 g
  • 2 tbsp

vegetables

  • 500 g · peeled, large chunks
  • 2 · wedges through the root

finish

  • 60 g
  • 3 tbsp · optional
  • 2 · optional · sliced

Ingredients

  • 300 ml

Method

  1. Cut into large chunks, about 5 cm across, trimming any hard gristle but keeping some fat and sinew; they melt into the gravy. Pat the pieces dry. Peel and cut into big chunks the same size as the beef. Cut into thick wedges through the root so they hold together.

    Chuck or shin only. Lean stewing cuts go stringy over this long a braise.

  2. Bruise with the flat of a knife, crack and and lightly crush the .

  3. Put 400 ml in a wide heavy pot over medium heat and simmer it hard, stirring, until it splits: the white cream turns translucent, then a clear oil separates and sizzles, about 8 min.

    Don't rush this. If the cream doesn't split, the paste fries in milk, not oil, and the finished gravy tastes flat and raw.

  4. Add 5 tbsp and fry it in the split cream, stirring constantly, until it darkens, smells roasted rather than raw and the oil reddens around it, about 5 min.

    Keep the heat at medium. A paste this full of dried spice scorches in seconds and the whole pot goes bitter.

  5. Add the beef and turn it until every piece is coated in the red paste and smells fragrant, about 3 min.

  6. Pour in 400 ml and 300 ml , scraping the bottom. Add 3 tbsp , 30 g , the bruised whole spices, 1 and 2 . Bring to a bare simmer, cover and cook until the beef gives way under a spoon, 1 h 30 min or a little more.

    Keep it at a whisper, not a rolling boil, or the coconut milk breaks and the beef seizes.

  7. Add the potato and onion, pushing them under the gravy. Simmer uncovered until the potato is tender to a knife but not collapsing, 20 min or a little longer.

  8. Fish out the cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and bay. Stir in 2 tbsp , then taste: it should lead sweet, follow with sour and finish salty. Add more palm sugar, tamarind or fish sauce until it does.

    Tamarind scorches if it goes in early, so it always goes in at the end.

  9. Crush 60 g roughly and stir most of them in. Let the curry sit off the heat for 5 min so the gravy thickens and the spices settle, then scatter the rest of the peanuts over with the and .

    It is better on the second day; cool it fast and reheat gently.

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