Name: Massaman Beef Curry
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 800 g beef shin or chuck, cut into 4 cm cubes; 400 ml coconut milk, full fat, unshaken; 200 ml coconut cream; 5 tbsp massaman curry paste; 400 g waxy potatoes, halved; 1 onion, cut into wedges; 80 g roasted peanuts; 3 tbsp fish sauce; 3 tbsp palm sugar; 3 tbsp tamarind paste; 1 cinnamon stick; 4 cardamom pods, bruised; 3 bay leaves; 300 ml beef stock; 2 tbsp neutral oil; 400 g jasmine rice, cooked

Massaman Beef Curry

The mildest and most aromatic Thai curry, carrying Persian and Indian influence in its cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Beef braised until it collapses, with potatoes and peanuts.

1 hr 50 min total Serves 6 servings Medium

Don't Make These Mistakes

Beef shin is ideal — it has more connective tissue than any other cut and gives the sauce real body.

Add the tamarind at the end. Cooked long, it turns flat and slightly bitter.

The curry is better the next day, once the whole spices have fully infused.

Making Massaman Beef Curry

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Pat the beef dry and brown it hard in the oil, in two batches, until well coloured on all sides. Set aside.
Spoon the thick cream from the top of the coconut milk tin into the pot and heat until it splits and the oil separates, about 5 minutes.
Add the massaman paste and fry for 4 minutes until fragrant and darkened.
Return the beef, add the cinnamon, cardamom and bay, and stir to coat.
Pour in the remaining coconut milk, the coconut cream and the stock. Bring to a bare simmer.
Cover and cook gently for 75 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beef is beginning to yield.
Add the potatoes, onion and peanuts and cook uncovered for 25 to 30 minutes more, until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened.
Season with the fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind, adding them gradually and tasting. The balance should be rich, mildly sweet and gently sour.
Rest off the heat for 10 minutes, then serve with jasmine rice.

Related guide: Choosing rice.

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Why It Works

Massaman is the one Thai curry cooked long and slow, because beef shin needs 90 minutes for its collagen to become gelatine. Tamarind and palm sugar are added late so their bright sourness and caramel notes are not cooked away during that long braise.

After You've Cooked It

Refrigerate 4 days, freeze 3 months. Reheat gently, adding a splash of coconut milk to loosen.

If You're Missing Something

If coconut is a problem, a cooking cream (dairy or plant-based) can stand in for the coconut milk in a sauce; the dish will lose the coconut flavour and taste noticeably different.

Serving Massaman Beef Curry

A Shiraz or a cold lager
Serve with jasmine rice and pickled cucumber
Finish with sliced pineapple

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Som Tam (Green Papaya Salad), Cabbage Salad with Peanut Dressing, Mango Salad.