Made-from-scratch Beef Massaman Curry! This epic Thai coconut curry takes time to make but you’ll be rewarded with a rich, fragrant curry with fall apart meat and beautiful layers of flavours that you can’t buy in a jar.
If you’re feeling inspired, indulge in a Thai banquet at home with Chicken Satay Skewers, Thai Fish Cakes, Pad See Ew Noodles and Thai Fried Rice. Add a fresh Asian Slaw on the side or use this Asian Sesame Dressing for any fresh salad or steamed vegetables!
Massaman Curry
Peanuts, coconut, aromatic fresh and ground spices, potatoes and fall apart beef. What’s not to love about Massaman Curry? It’s like all my favourite things, simmered in one pot!
And it’s not just me. There’s a reason why Massaman Curry seems to appear as a Chef’s Special at almost every Thai restaurant. And that it was probably the single most requested recipe when I did a recipe call out.
We’ve embraced Massaman as a firm favourite and it’s totally worthy!
What is Massaman curry?
Massaman Curry is a bit of an outlier in Thai cuisine. It was born from Indian and Malay influences and as a result, the main flavours comes from spices typically associated with Indian curries. Spices such as: cumin, coriander, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom.
Basically, if you take Indian curry spices and do a mash up with aromatics used in Thai curries (garlic, lemongrass, galangal), add coconut and peanuts, you end up with Massaman Curry. So it tastes like a mash up between an Indian curry and Thai Curry.
And we love it!
“It’s not quick and easy, but it’s worth it!”
This recipe was never going to make my quick ‘n easy recipe collection, but every minute is worth it. The freshness of a made-from-scratch massaman curry paste puts store bought to shame.
Yes there are quite a few steps – but it’s not hard and I hope these process photos and the recipe video will give you the confidence that you got this!!!
The beef
One of the signature characteristics of Massaman Curry is tender fall apart meat. It’s most commonly made with beef. Though it will work fine with any slow cooking cut of beef, I find that beef chuck has the ideal amount of fat and fibre texture for this curry.
The cooking method for the beef is quite unique – it’s simmered in a pot with beef broth with lemongrass trimmings and bay leaves until it’s fall apart tender, then the reduced braising liquid and beef are later stirred into the curry.
This cooking method makes Massaman Curry very easy to adapt for almost any protein because basically, you just simmer your chosen meat until it’s super tender.
PS The pieces of beef are quite large – and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. Big, juicy, fall apart pieces of beef. yesssssss!
The aromatics
The curry paste uses fairly common Thai aromatics.
Galangal is a common ingredient used in South East Asian cuisine – it looks like a red ginger but is tougher to cut, and tastes like citrusy/piney ginger. It can be found at everyday supermarkets in Australia (Coles, Woolies, Harris).
In addition to this, there’s dried Asian chillies (Asian store, or use these ones from Harris Farms), ginger, lemongrass and eschalots (the baby onions / French shallots).
The preparation of the Aromatics for Massaman Curry is quite unique, so I’m going to step through some of the key ones.
Dried Chillies – The seeds of chillies is where most of the spiciness is so by removing the seeds, it makes this curry quite mild. Also, dried Asian chillies are typically more mild than dried chillies from other regions (such as Caribbean and Hispanic).
Lemongrass – Typically when lemongrass is called for in a recipe, the reedy outer layers are peeled off and discarded. I like how the trimmings are used to flavour the beef broth in this recipe. Then the softer inside stalk is used in the standard manner – finely chopped then blitzed in the curry paste.
How to make Massaman curry paste
One of the characteristics of Massaman Curry is the signature hint of smokiness. In order to achieve this, the Aromatics are charred in some way – methods vary from using a charcoal grill to cooking in oil, or in a dry skillet which is how I do it in this recipe.
Once charred to infuse the Aromatics with the smokey flavour, the galangal is grated (it’s tough, so that’s the best way to ensure a smooth sauce), the garlic is peeled and the chillies are emptied of the seeds before blitzing in a food processor with toasted spices to make the paste.
Making the Massaman curry sauce
We’re on the home stretch here with the best part yet to come – EATING IT!
Making the Massaman Curry sauce and bringing it all together is relatively straight forward. Start off by sautéing the curry paste to bring out the flavour, add coconut milk, cinnamon and star anise.
Next, we season the curry sauce with fish sauce (the salty), tamarind (sour) and sugar (sweet). The holy trinity of Asian cooking – the perfect balance of sweet, salty and sour!
Add potatoes (raw) and by the time the potatoes are tender, the sauce should have reduced and thickened. If it thickens too fast, just thin it with water. Then lastly, plonk the beef back in just to heat through.
OMG can you imagine the smell of this, simmering away on the stove?? It’s insane!
And those hunks of beef that just fall apart at a touch…. and those tender potatoes that have sucked up all those amazing flavours….
And that sauce… that sauce!! ?
It’s simply amazing.
Well, not that simple to make. But it’s so, so worth it! – Nagi x
Complete your meal!
- Steamed Jasmine rice, Thai Fried Rice or Coconut Rice
- Crunchy Asian Slaw on the side – great all rounder Asian salad that goes with all Asian foods
- Asian Sesame Dressing for any fresh salad or steamed vegetables
- To start – Chicken Satay Skewers or Thai Fish Cakes
And more great curries of the world
- Thai Green Curry
- Thai Red Curry
- Biryani (it’s amazing!)
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Dal (Indian lentil curry)
- Beef Rendang
- Browse the Curry Collection
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
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Massaman Curry
Ingredients
Spice Paste:
- 1 lemongrass (Note 1)
- 6 dried red Asian chillis (not Thai! Note 2)
- 4 eschallots , peeled (Note 3)
- 5 cloves garlic , unpeeled
- 3 cm / 2.25" galangal piece , peeled, cut into 3/4 cm / 1/2" slices (Note 4)
- 4 - 6 tbsp water
Spice Paste Dried Spices:
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 3/4 tsp cumin
- 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp coriander
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Beef:
- 700 g / 1.4lb beef chuck , cut into 4cm / 2.5" cubes (Note 5)
- 500 ml / 2 cups beef broth , low sodium
- 2 bay leaves
Curry Sauce:
- 1/4 cup / 65 ml vegetable oil
- 400 ml / 14 oz coconut milk (full fat, 1 can)
- 1 cinnamon quill
- 1 star anise
- 1 tsp tamarind paste/puree (Note 6)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 2 medium-small potatoes , peeled and cut into 2.5cm / 1" pieces
Garnish:
- 3 tbsp peanuts , roughly chopped
- Finely sliced red chilli (optional)
- Asian fried shallots (optional, Note 7)
Instructions
Lemongrass (see video):
- Remove reedy outer layers and trim lemongrass per Note 1.
- Reserve all the trimmings (for beef). Finely chop the white part (for paste.
Beef:
- Place Beef ingredients in a medium saucepan. Liquid should almost cover beef but not completely - if not, add water.
- Add lemongrass trimmings.
- Bring to boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 1.5 - 2 hours until beef is fork tender.
- Remove beef. If there's much more than 1.5 cups liquid, simmer to reduce. Set liquid aside.
Char Aromatics (char = flavour!):
- Place heavy based skillet over high heat until smoking (no oil).
- Add eschalot, garlic and galangal in skillet. Get a nice char on them, then remove (~1.5 minutes).
- Add dried chillies into skillet, char 10 seconds or so on each side until charred, then remove.
- Once cool enough to handle: Grate galangal. Peel garlic. Break chillies in half, shake out seeds and discard.
Spice Paste Dried Spices:
- Wipe the skillet used above or use a clean one. Heat on medium heat, add Spice Paste Dried Spices. Toast for 30 seconds or until they start to smell fragrant - do not let them burn. Immediately transfer into bowl.
Curry Paste:
- Place chillies in food processor. (Note 8) Blitz until finely chopped.
- Add galangal, finely chopped lemongrass, the toasted Spice Paste Dried Spices, and remaining Spice Paste ingredients, starting with 4 tbsp water. Blitz until smooth - add more water if required.
Curry Sauce:
- Place oil in a pot or large skillet over medium high heat. Add curry paste and cook for 3 minutes until the liquid has cooked out and it's thick and fragrant.
- Add coconut milk, stir to incorporate.
- Add cinnamon, star anise and reserved beef braising liquid. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Stir in fish sauce, tamarind and sugar, stir.
- Add potatoes and cook for 7 minutes or until potatoes are tender, turning as required.
- Add beef and simmer for 2 minutes or until sauce has reduced and thickened.
- Adjust: saltiness with fish sauce, sour with tamarind and sweet with sugar. The taste should be sweet, salty and sour, with more emphasis on the sweet and sour notes. Top up with a little water if the curry seems too thick
- Serve over rice, garnished with peanuts (essential!) plus optional crispy Asian shallots and fresh chillies.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
His eyes boggle at the sight of a big slab of beef…. OMG OMG….
This is amazing!! Who needs take away when you can create something this amazing at home. Was a tad spicy but I used my own chillies which might be thai. The depth of flavour was incredible.
I have loved every recipe of yours I have tried. Thank you 😊
I’m so glad you tried it and loved it Helen!! N x
Hey Nagi, could this be done in a slow cooker? If so, what adjustments would you recommend? Thanks!
Hi Cheryl, the recipe as written wouldn’t work in a slow cooker as you need to reduce the sauce – N x
Thanks! I made this lastnight and it was amazing! A little spicier than I expected though so would probably use less chillies next time. And plan to try it with lamb too.
Hey Nagi – if I were to substitute chicken for this recipe, do you think I should I still use beef broth or should I sub chicken broth as well? Thanks!!
Hi Elyse, you need the beef broth – it has more flavour 🙂 N x
I did this with whole lamb shanks and it was amazing.
Yum – I LOVE this idea Stuart!
I made this for dinner today. It took nearly 3 hours to make but it was worth it. Soooo delicious. I’ll definitely be making it again but might enlist the husband to help with the prep.
It’s totally worth it Lynn!!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it 🙂
My husband voted this the best thing I’ve ever cooked. Being that we’ve been married nearly 40 years, that was a pretty good compliment.
I made it after work, so did cheat and cooked the beef in the pressure cooker with the stock, bay and trimmings while I was making the paste. It was amazing! Thank you x
What a compliment!!! That’s great to hear Cheryl! N x
Hi Nagi! I’m officially hooked on your recipes and no longer look elsewhere (unless you don’t have a recipe which is pretty much never! 🙂 ) My hubby now is a frequent visitor to your site suggesting new recipes to try… just have to try and get him in the kitchen too…
Just wanted to say I made this recipe for dinner last night and it is seriously good.
So much flavour. I think my chillis may have been of the hotter variety because it definitely had a lot of warmth to it – too hot for my 4 year old. As usual, I made too much rice so your chicken fried rice is getting a run tonight.
Keep up the good work Nagi!!!
P.S. I live on the north shore in Sydney and love your helpful hints on where to buy bits and pieces…very helpful.
Thanks so much for the great feedback Kelly!! Thats so nice to hear ❤️
Hi Nagi!
When I visited Thailand I had this great massaman in Pai. Looking forward to making this to relive those times. What veg do you suggest to add (I think the one I got had onion in it) and when?
Thanks in advance!
Hi Thijs, traditional massaman doesn’t have any added veg apart from potatoes, but if you want to boost your veg intake, try adding some eggplant, zucchini, capsicum or even beans! The options are endless 🙂
Wondering if this recipe can be made with the Maesri masaman curry paste?
It sure can Kate! I’m testing it and will have a “pimped” version soon!
I’d be very interested in trying a revised recipe that pimps out a curry paste as mentioned in previous posts. Your pimped green curry recipe is just to die for! I love all the detail you put into your recipes for understanding substitutions and the video is a great summary.
For anyone else making this, I strongly recommend a set of teaspoons handy to compare the curry after adding each ingredient. Also, note that thick-cut Potatoes will take 20 minutes to cook in the simmering curry sauce.
When I added the beef, I also added a tablespoon of almond meal and crushed peanuts into the curry to soften up. This also evens out the consistency of the blended curry paste.
Nagi the best Massamum I have ever had was apparently a slow-cooked beef tenderloin that was marinated in pineapple! This probably breaks all the rules, but whatever they did it was totally epic. I just can’t get my beef that tender.
Oh yes, I have that in the works, thanks for reminding me!!!
This recipe is incredibly authentic and expertly explained. Thank you so much! Btw- if anyone is looking that is vegetarian- I used jackfruit instead of meat- but still boiled it with the Lemmon grass trimmings for a bit. The curry obviously lost some of the meaty flavor- but it still tasted fantastic! Next time I will parboil the potatoes- as it took far longer than 7 mins to get them soft. All in all- an amazing recipe. Bravo!
Hi, I was wondering if you had a suggestion on how to make this with shrimp instead of beef. Thank you!
Love this recipe, but I am away from home and don’t have access to a food processor. Could I use Maesri curry paste?
Hi Kate, you sure can – I like to pimp thinks up a little though so would add some garlic, ginger & lemongrass paste. I’m actually in the process of testing this and will write up a curry paste version soon! – N x
thank you very much for the recipe. I have been looking for a long time, experimenting but I have never been able to get this wonderful aroma and taste of massaman
thank you very much for the recipe. I have been looking for a long time, experimenting but I have never been able to get this wonderful aroma and taste of massaman
Thanks so much for the great feedback Artur!
Just wanted to say thank you Nagi for this incredible recipe. – So much depth of flavour. Made it for dinner tonight and I will definitely be making again. Maybe even possibly doing a double/triple batch of the curry paste and freezing in containers.
YES!!! That’s the best!
Hey Nagi, just wondering wether you can make the paste in advance and refrigerate/freeze it? Also just wondering what your preferred brand is for supermarket bought beef stock (I’m in NSW) as I don’t have any home made at the moment and want to try this recipe tonight. Absolutely love your recipes!
Thanks.
Hi Maria, yes you can make the paste in advance, keep in the fridge for a couple of days or freeze up to a month. I use Campbell’s stock when cooking – N x
Delicious, beautiful balance of flavours.
Will definitely be making again.
Thanks so much Katrina for letting me know!