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.
BONUS: I’ve also included directions for how to make this using store bought Massaman Curry paste, including my tip for the BEST brand to use!
Feeling inspired to make a Thai banquet? Try adding Chicken Satay Skewers, Thai Fish Cakes, Pad See Ew Noodles or Thai Fried Rice to your menu!
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, along with its lamb shank counterpart. 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!!!
Best beef for Massaman curry
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.
Alternative: BEST store bought curry paste
We all have times when we need Massaman Curry but making it from scratch simply isn’t viable for whatever reason.
So I’ve included directions for how to make a really great Massaman Curry using store bought curry paste. Whatever the jar says to do, IGNORE IT! Follow the directions I’ve provided to toast the curry paste and brighten it up with a fresh hit of garlic, ginger and lemongrass paste before adding the coconut milk.
And for the BEST Massaman Curry paste, find the little Maesri cans. Restaurants use it, chefs use it, and I hoard it.
And it happens to be a bargain at ~$1.50 a can.
I use it for all my Thai curries when I don’t have time / ingredients to make the curry paste from scratch – Red, Green and Lamb Shank Massaman Curry.
Where to find Maesri curry paste – at your local grocery store!
It’s sold at most metropolitan Coles and Woolworths grocery stores in Australia (Asian section), at Harris Farms, practically all Asian stores (it would be un-Asian not to carry it!) and here it is online in Australia, US, Canada* and UK.
* Obscenely expensive, please try to get to an Asian store!
Can’t find it?
Use any Massaman Curry paste you can find. Order of preference (Aussie brands) – Ayam, Five Tastes and bringing up the rear is Volcom (it’s always too sweet).
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
PS Update: I’ve since shared Lamb Shank Massaman Curry. That too is amazing – with a capital A!
Complete your meal – starters!
On the side
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 & serving:
- 3 tbsp peanuts , roughly chopped
- Finely sliced red chilli (optional)
- Asian fried shallots (optional, Note 7)
- Steamed jasmine rice
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 jasmine rice, garnished with peanuts (essential!) plus optional crispy Asian shallots and fresh chillies.
Recipe Notes:
- Follow Beef steps to cook beef and make broth;
- Skip all curry paste making steps;
- Under Curry Sauce steps, use store bought paste instead of homemade PLUS 2 garlic cloves minced, 2 tsp minced ginger plus 1 tbsp lemongrass (paste OR finely grated fresh, white part only).
- Cook it off for 3 minutes per recipe, proceed with recipe as written.
Nutrition Information:
I adore Thai curries!
Proof:
Life of Dozer
His eyes boggle at the sight of a big slab of beef…. OMG OMG….
Renee says
Nagi! I made this with the store bought paste and some slow cooked beef cheeks tonight. Omg it was so good and an absolute hit, even with my very fussy partner. Thank you for the recipe! 😊
Nagi says
I am happy that you enjoyed it Renee! N x
Halina says
Ok so I made this using the curry paste suggested, and it was incredible. Like totally restaurant quality, made it the day before serving and the flavors developed even that bit more and everyone devoured it. Thanks for another great recipe, anytime I need a recipe I always check RecipeTin first as every recipe I’ve tried has been fantastic
Nagi says
Thanks Halina!! You are very kind! N x
Laura says
Another amazing recipe Nagi! I used the tin version for a “quick” meal and used a splash of Worcestershire sauce instead of fish sauce as we don’t like fish sauce but it was SO tasty! I also forgot to get peanuts 🥴 but I will get them next time. Such a delicious meal!
Nagi says
I am glad that you liked it Laura! N x
Kirk Line says
I made this dish from scratch to entertain on Saturday night and it absolutely went down a treat, some friends saying its one of the best curries they have had for a long time.
Will be using this website for most recipes from now on
Very impressed
Nagi says
I am so happy that you enjoyed it Kirk! N x
RJ says
This may be a stupid question, but since I don’t usually cook potatoes (I’m weird, I know!) I’m not sure what type of potatoes to use in a curry. Does it even matter what type of potato is used?
I just figured if I’m going to put all the time into this, I don’t want to stuff it up with the potato 😂
Nagi says
Hi RJ – for this curry a Dutch Cream potato is a good all rounder. N x
Natalie says
Hi Nagi, I made this today and I was dithering about whether to brown the meat before I put it to cook in the broth but I followed your recipe and didn’t do so. I wanted to check if it makes any difference in your experience – I’d always thought this was a necessary step in any slow cook but maybe because this curry is so flavoursome it’s not needed?
Nagi says
In this recipe Natalie, you are using the beef and the broth from it so no need to brown it here! N x
Natalie says
Thank you, Nagi! The curry was delicious without searing the beef so glad I didn’t have to worry about it!
Sandra says
All I can say is YUM! I made the curry using the maseri paste and it was divine !! Even my fiancé who “doesn’t like” Thai food thought this was sensational! I totally get what you mean about restaurants making it sweeter, having this with coconut rice made it that touch sweeter for me. However I see myself adjusting to it taste! P.S the beef cooked in lemongrass and stock is incredible, I could totally use that to make a pie 😍😍
Karina says
I use the spices and the tin together..its so good..double sauce as well…my go to on a Sunday with time to cook..and baked cheese cake as well
Yass says
Yum. I made this using the maesri curry and it was delicious. I used chicken breast because we try not to eat fatty meats during the week. Seriously good. Will try with slowcooked beef soon.
Kristie Schultz says
What a fantastic meal! The best flavour. My daughter and her partner cooked this for the whole family. It was a celebration of food and Family. Thank you Nagi for all the care you put into your recipes.
Al Nelson says
Hello Nagi! Whats the braising liquid you use? Is that store bought beef broth/bouillon?
Dylan says
Looking to make this on the weekend. Less then a plastic measuring teaspoon of each spice does not look like as much as the video shows. How are you measuring the spices?
Thanks.
Ashlee says
This was so good! I was so doubtful that I could pull this off, and I didnt have all the right ingredients but it was definitely the best home made massaman Ive ever made! I used an Aldi brand paste as that is all I had and missed out the tamarind and added onion with the potatoes *=(used sweet potatoes instead)- but the recipe was forgiving and it still turned out very nice!!
jessica says
Is there a way to “make thid in a hirry” if i use a masseri massman paste to make it?
Amber says
Nagi, thank you for reigniting my love of cooking! I’ve made a number of your recipes now, both sweet and savoury and they have all been delicious- with very happy bellies (both big and small) in this family! Before I found your blog this massaman curry would have been so beyond my abilities but I made it today for dinner and it is perfect! Can’t wait for the book!
Sandy says
FABULOUS! Love the flavours in this curry. I made it from scratch, but have also bought the Maestri paste so that when I make it again I can see what the difference is. Wonderful to have all your helpful hints, notes, and video, especially useful for those like me who don’t have access to city stores.
Thanks Nagi, well done!
Sharon says
Oh, I forgot to mention I used the Maesri curry paste, rather than making it from scratch. Great timesaver and terrific flavour!
Nagi says
It’s soooo good, right?? N x
Sharon says
I cooked this tonight. It was absolutely delicious!! My husband recently had a Massaman curry from a local restaurant and he said mine was heaps better! I used gravy beef (couldn’t get chuck) and substituted coconut aminos for the fish sauce. I’ll definitely make this again. Thank you, Nagi, for a great recipe.
Nagi says
Thanks! N x
Liz says
Absolutely delicious and the instructions, are as ever clear, logical and easy to follow.
I suspect even a 12 year old, who has been taught to cook, would be able to attempt this with some adult supervision.
I have always been a fan of the additional information you provide, so that often I don’t need to pop to the shops to make something from your site with regards to more exotic ingredients, as I have acceptable substitutions on hand. Super useful during lockdowns!
I am also aware that many people don’t live in diverse cities, or may have to drive long distances to get to any shops, let alone Asian stores, so that must be a huge help to them.
I find your explanation of flavour profiles extremely useful for ingredients that I may want to substitute.
I currently have your Beef Rendang gently bubbling away and the smell is delicious. Looking forward to dinner.
Andre Ross says
What a confusing mess you have made of what should be a simple to understand recipe.
Usually I let the kids make whatever they can pick and they decided on this… no way a couple of 12 you could sort.
Lynn says
This isn’t a confusing recipe Andre, it’s complex. Shame you’re not up to it cos it’s really worth it. Best massaman ever.
jessica says
Lynn, RUDE! I teach 12 year olds and they are kore capable than you think! Or just dont make it. Nagi takes her time to post these recipies and offers them to us with pure intent. If you have nothing nice or constructive to say- DONT SAY IT!
Kylie says
I think you have your wires crossed. Please read the whole context of the conversations before Lynn’s comment. She has said nothing untoward.
Sandy says
The only rude one here is Andre not Lynn. To say Nagi made a mess of the recipe is highly disrespectful.
Lynn says
I wasn’t intending to be rude, Simply to say that I don’t find this recipe confusing at all. I love Nagi’s recipes.
Nagi says
Hi Andre…yes this one is a bit more complex than some of my other recipes for sure!