Jump to video!
Watch The Full Video Tutorial!
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success - and if you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!
Massaman Curry มัสมั่นไก่
- Yield: Serves 3-4
Ingredients
- 4 pc bone-in dark meat chicken*
- 500 ml coconut milk
- 50 g. Massaman curry paste**
- 2-3 Tbsp finely chopped palm sugar, or brown or granulated sugar.
- 1-2 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2-3 Tbsp tamarind juice, you can use pre-made juice or make you own
- 1 medium potato or sweet potato, cut into 1.5” chunks
- 1 small yellow onion, cut into 1 cm strips
- ¼ cup roasted whole peanuts
Recipe Notes:
* You can substitute another kind of meat. Beef is also commonly used in Thailand, but it will require longer braising time, at least 2 hours.
** When working with curry paste, each brand has a different level of saltiness, so it’s difficult to determine an exact measurement of fish sauce. So you should start out with a conservative amount and then add if necessary.
Instructions
Before you cook: Like all stews, this dish is better the next day after the flavors have had time to mingle. So if you can, make it a day in advanced!
In a heavy bottom pot, reduce 1 cup of the coconut milk until it “breaks.” Add the curry paste to the broken coconut milk and sauté until aromatic. Alternatively, if you are using canned coconut milk or a type that is not 100% coconut milk, it may have been homogenized and may not break. In this case, saute the curry paste in some vegetable oil, and add ¼ cup of the coconut milk to loosen it up.
Toss the chicken in the sautéed curry paste, and add the remaining amount of coconut milk. Add just enough water to cover the chicken pieces. Add 1 Tbsp of fish sauce, 2 Tbsp tamarind juice, and 2 Tbsp chopped palm sugar. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the potatoes and onion, and let simmer gently for another 20 minutes or until the vegetables and chicken are fork tender.
When the cooking is done, add the roasted peanuts and do a final taste check. Adjust by adding more fish sauce (for salty), tamarind (for acid), and sugar (for sweet). Serve with rice!
Mark
I had Massaman curry in Thailand several years ago and it was the BEST! Now I can try to make it at home. I will use the Maesri brand which is made in Nakhon Pathom so I think it will have a good mix of spices.
Joy
Funny no one mentions its a dish from the muslim population of Thailand.
Foody
Very tasty,, Instead of store bought Massaman curry paste I made it from stratch (some extra work) but its much nicer than ready made paste:
https://www.thaitable.com/thai/recipe/massaman-curry-paste
Klaudia
I wanted to write that it’s as good as at restaurant but.. it would be a lie. It’s much BETTER than in restaurant!!! Thank you for amazing recipe ❤️
★★★★★
Futile Resistance
I'm not as big a fan of the massaman paste compared to the other curry pastes, but this recipe def works better than most variations elsewhere
★★★★★
Eva Vincil
Hi used Chicken thighs, boneless And skinless. I mixed cumin, cinnamon, coriander seeds, pepper, salt. And nutmeg with a little bit of flor and used that on my thighs and browned them in the pan. Although not the traditional recipe it tasted good.
Sandy LV
I used Mae Ploy Massaman paste & 1 T tamarind powder. I adjusted by using more palm sugar. Fantastic! Thank you Pai!
★★★★★
Stephen Chan
I love Thai curries, while Massaman may not be my favourite among all curries, it's still delicious in it's own way, especially the peanuts!
★★★★★
Michael
Earlier a dish for kings and rich people. Today you can get it everywhere in Thailand.
Today, thanks Pai, you can make it at home.
Original taste of Thailand.
★★★★★