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….
Hi Nagi!
So excited to try this. Do you have the calorie info like your other recipes?
Cheers!
Nicola
Just added it! I didn’t have the energy last night when I finally finished it!!! N xx
Hi, Nagi,
This sounds amazing, but I have to say that 20 minutes of prep time may work for you, but I know it will take me about an hour!
Donna
OK OK! 😂 I upped it to 30 min 🙂 But in all honesty, actually, for this recipe you can get a lot done while the beef is simmering away 🙂 So if you take into account the overlap, it doesn’t take as long!! N xx
👌🤪😜
Hi Nagi,
Again, love your site!!!
For us folks who are sometimes lazy, what do you think about using Maesri massaman curry paste instead of starting from scratch?
Thanks much.
Cheers,
Howard
Hi Howard! To be completely honest, I have tried on numerous occasions to freshen up store bought paste with aromatics and I still couldn’t get there. I’m so sorry! But if I do give it another attempt I’ll jot down notes of what I did and how it tastes 🙂 N x
Yummy and yes very “Indianish ” coming from your anglo indian viewer in toronto canada👍.
DOZER your mum is not being fair..tempting you with the hunk of BEEF😈
It’s the story of his life!!! 😂
This looks good! It reminds me of beef stew. When the beef chuck goes on sale, I buy it and cut it in big chunks too. It shrinks enough when it cooks! Lol.
Now, if you could read Dozer’s mind, you would be all set, but then there wouldn’t be any surprises! 😂
I believe the words in his head were “OMG OMG OMG…..”
Hi, Nagi! 🙂 Love Massaman Curry! 🙂
May I know what is the salad in first photo? The red-colored dressing looks yummy!
HI Trish! We didn’t jot down the quantities for the dressing but we’re making it this weekend so will add it into the recipe 🙂 It’s a Nahm Jim dressing that’s not as spicy as it looks!
Am looking forward to making this. Sounds and looks delicious. Am cooking for one and wondering if I can freeze half of the spice paste for later use. Thanks.
Hi Krisby! Sure thing – all of these South East Asian spice pastes freeze very well 🙂 N x
oh I’m with Dozer, my eyes are boggling too! This looks soo good. The only time I have massaman is in a restaurant, I have never tried to make it. I have everything in my pantry except the galangal. I might have to drive to Seattle for that but I feel like it would be a key ingredient. Can galangal be frozen like ginger? I freeze my ginger root and it actually makes grating it much easier.
You have everything you need to make this?? Your pantry is better stocked than mine! 🙂 Just use ginger and zest of lime – I have a note about this 🙂 N xx
Galangal freezes well
Grated ginger can be frozen , ready to go
Turmeric as well.
Massaman Curry is one of my favorite Asian curries. I must admit though, I’ve never tried to make the paste. Local Asian store has freshly made most of the time. But, your post has inspired me to do the full meal deal. That salad in your first image looks fantastic.
Were you holding dozer from behind and shooting remotely???
I’ve trained him from when he was a wee puppy to hold back from doing a face plant if there’s a camera near food! I swear he KNOWS it’s work!!
Just thought I’d emphasise the importance of using good quality coconut milk! A lot of the cheaper coconut milks/creams are cheaper because they’re mostly water. Just look at the “ingredients” information for proof.
Personally, the Ayam brand is my go to! Sure, it costs more, and yeah, more calories (or whatever). But the reason is because you’re getting 100% coconut milk/cream. Of course its cheaper if you’re basically paying for water. And of course there’s less calories (or whatever) if its diluted with water…
Nagi, Is it too late to nominate a recipe? I would love to know how to make the curry sauce that accompanies Roti Pratha. I lived in Singapore for a while and had at least one almost every single day. I’ve found a local Indian Grocery store with the frozen “bread” that’s close enough (minus the acrobatic flipping involved), but I’m still stumped on this simple delectable curry sauce that goes with it. If I could woo you with the prospect of being held in even higher regard than you already are, then I would. However, the simple truth is that you are already at maximum “in awe of” in my books 🙂
Andrew! It’s like you’re reading my mind, I have wondered too! I agree, I buy the frozen roti which are fantastic. I would love to learn to make Malay roti one day and if I do, I will certainly include the curry sauces! N xx PS Stop with the compliments, my head is going to blow up so big
Great food,
Thanks Jonathan! N x
This, rendang and nyonya ayam are my fav curries from South East Asia. Massaman pairs perfectly with pandan coconut rice, though can be a little rich in large servings and is not so great for the waistline, but treats are always an acception 😉 ! We used to have one of the holy trinity of curries I mentioned at Xmas lunch growing up, along with an assortment of other spicy dishes. I can’t wait to cook this again and look forward to sopping up all that delicious gravy! Thanks for posting, this will be on my mind all week until I can cook it again. 😉
Mmm Rendang is a massive personal fave too!! N xx PS LOVE the idea of Curries for Christmas…
Adding the process photos is brilliant!! Best food blogger ever!!!
Aww shucks stop it! 🙂 *Cheeks, RED!*
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! I put this through as a recipe request and you have come through. Guess what I will be cooking this weekend?! I’ll let you know how it goes, but it looks amazing! Great detail in the recipe.
Can’t WAIT to hear what you think! I’ll be around this weekend if you have any questions, pop ’em on this recipe and I’ll respond 🙂 N x
OMG this is my all time favorite recipe and I haven’t even made it yet. I have a deep love for massaman curry and i like how you made it seem so easy to make. I absolutely CANNOT wait to try this!
Hope you get a chance to try this Danielle! It’s a pretty special curry 🙂 N xx