I am planing a special dinner for my best friend and decided to use a dish from my recent cooking class with Chef Lak in Bangkok. I learned how to make many fantastic main dishes including Massaman, this will be perfect!
Massaman is the king of curries and one of the world’s top 50 most delicious foods as rated by on CNN http://travel.cnn.com/explorations/eat/worlds-50-most-delicious-foods-067535/. Spiciness, saltiness, sweetness , creaminess, and are the perfect combination of flavors in Thai cuisine. It has everything, and more.
Massaman curry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massaman_curry is romanticized in a poem from the end of the 18th century, attributed to Prince Itsarasunthon of Siam, then later King Rama II (1767-1824). The lyrics are dedicated to a lady who is believed to be Princess Bunrot, the later Queen Sri Suriyendra, wife of King Rama II. The second stanza of the poem reads.
“มัสมั่นแกงแก้วตา หอมยี่หร่ารสร้อนแรง – Massaman, a curry made by my beloved, is fragrant of cumin and strong spices.”
“ชายใดได้กลืนแกง แรงอยากให้ใฝ่ฝันหา – Any man who has swallowed the curry is bound to long for her.”
I am so lucky to be a native from “The Land of Smiles” where the world’s most delicious food is sold on nearly every street corner. This curry is most commonly made with chicken, but there are also variations on this dish using beef, duck, goat, or made as a vegetarian dish. The flavors of the curry paste come from spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cumin, bay leaves, nutmeg, and mace. Are you hungry? Let’s get cooking ka.
Ingredients:
6 bone-in dark meat chicken or other meats ( I used chicken drumsticks)
2 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
1 yellow onion, cut into strips
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1 canned or 5.6 ounces coconut milk
3 ounces coconut cream
1 cup water
2 tablespoons fish sauce
salt to taste
2 tablespoons palm sugar, brown, or granulated sugar
1/4 cup tamarind juice (I bought from an oriental store)
Massaman Curry Paste:
5 dried whole chilies, I used large California chili peppers to get the flavor, color, and are not spicy, seeded, and cut into pieces, if you like spicy use small dried chilies
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon black peppercorn
5 cloves
5 pods white cardamom
3 star anise
1 cinnamon stick, break into small pieces
1 nutmeg, shell removed
1 stalk lemongrass, thinly slices only white part
4 shallots, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 sliced ginger, chopped
2 sliced galangal, chopped
1/2 teaspoon lime zest to substitute the kaffir lime zest
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
Instructions:
To make the curry paste, in a medium pan, over medium heat, toast chilies until slightly brown but not burnt. Set it aside. Add spices and toast them until fragrant.
Use a granite mortar and pestle, add spices and pound until smooth. Then add chili peppers and salt. When chilies are roughly grounded, add sliced lemongrass, garlic, shallot, galangal, and ginger. Pound until mixed and smooth. Add shrimp paste and pound to mix everything together. By the way, I like to use a granite mortar and pestle making the curry paste but you can use a food processor or coffee grinder to save your time.
Massaman curry paste should be dark red color from roasted red peppers and other ingredients, finely ground and fragrant.
To make Massaman curry, pour in a canned coconut milk and a cup water in a pot over medium heat. Add chicken and 1 tablespoon fish sauce, pinch of salt, and bring to a boil. In a medium pan over medium heat, add 3 oz coconut cream and wait until bubbles and reduce. You can also add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil if coconut may not break. Stir in the curry paste and sauté until aromatic. Then pour in the curry sauce into the pot, add bay leaves, and stir well. You may add more water if the curry is too thick. When the chicken is fully cooked then add potatoes. Taste and season with fish sauce, salt, tamarind juice, and palm sugar. Then add onion and roasted peanut. Simmer about 10-15 minutes. Adjust the seasoning if desired. Serve warm delicious massaman curry with steamed jasmine rice. Enjoy ka!
Lada's Kitchen 