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….
Hello Nagi! Whats the braising liquid you use? Is that store bought beef broth/bouillon?
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.
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!!
Is there a way to “make thid in a hirry” if i use a masseri massman paste to make it?
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!
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!
Oh, I forgot to mention I used the Maesri curry paste, rather than making it from scratch. Great timesaver and terrific flavour!
It’s soooo good, right?? N x
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.
Thanks! N x
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.
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.
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.
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!
I think you have your wires crossed. Please read the whole context of the conversations before Lynn’s comment. She has said nothing untoward.
The only rude one here is Andre not Lynn. To say Nagi made a mess of the recipe is highly disrespectful.
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.
Hi Andre…yes this one is a bit more complex than some of my other recipes for sure!
Nagi – could you cook this in a slow cooker? I have cooked may of you recipes and they are always delicious.
Nagi a generic comment from an old dog these days. You are simply the best and in the words of the song better than all the rest.! Have an Asian spouse and so have a working knowledge of all the Asian recipes you publish but you add that little bit extra.Keep up the excellant work.
LOVED this recipe. Tasted exactly like a Thai restaurant to me. I also added some fresh pineapple. Thanks Nagi!
OMG i cooked this but used the store bought paste you recommended, cooked the beef as you suggested. Sooo good
My favourite Thai restaurant uses oyster blade in their massaman. Would it work for this recipe?
Thanks!
Yes 100% Michelle as it’s slow cooked 🙂 N x
Made the recipe using oyster blade tonight. Hands down this is the best massaman curry I’ve ever eaten!
Thanks again Nagi 😋
Thank you so much for replying Nagi!
I can’t wait to try it. I made your crispy Mongolian beef last night and as with all your recipes, it was delicious! 😋
Thanks for all you share – you have been a huge inspiration to me in wanting to become a better cook. I even now regularly shop at my local Asian supermarket and love it! You’re a star! 🌟
My family said this was the best massaman curry they’ve ever had! What more can I say? I made the paste from scratch & definitely well worth the effort! Thanks again & good on you in your new venture. The world needs more people like you 🙂
Loved this Massaman Beef curry! Used the recommended tinned curry paste.
The beef was so tender and tasty, will be making this again and again!😋
Hi Nagi, love your Massaman Curry. Cooking the beef in stock rather than in the curry sauce is delicious! Just wondering though, could I use that stock again to make a soup instead of throwing it out?
Sorry, just realised that I still need to use the liquid 🤦♀️🤦♀️
How could I amend this using the paste and the Instapot
I just used my instant pot for this! I put the beef, stock, lemongrass trimmings and bay leaves in for 40 min then full natural release. While it was releasing I fried off the curry paste etc on the stovetop (on hindsight I could of done this on saute mode first then put to the side). I the fished out the lemongrass and bay and stirred in the paste, coconut milk, potato and simmered it on saute then added in the fish sauce, tamarind and sugar. Came out perfectly!
Sorry this one isn’t suitable for the instantpot but if you want to use a Massaman paste, try this one: https://discountspot.info/lamb-shanks-in-massaman-curry/%3C/a%3E N x
10/10. Maesri massaman paste is the best, for sure.