• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

RecipeTin Eats

Fast Prep, Big Flavours

Small book

My cookbook "Dinner" now available!

  • My RecipeTin
  • My cookbook!
  • Recipes
  • Recipes By Category
    • Christmas ⭐️
      • Starters
      • Mains
      • Sides: Warm & Hearty
      • Sides: Light & Fresh
      • Desserts
      • Breads
      • Christmas Leftovers
    • Iconic + cult classics
    • Mains
      • Chicken
        • Chicken mince
      • Beef Recipes
        • Ground Beef (Mince)
      • Pork
      • Lamb
      • Turkey
      • Shrimp / Prawns
      • Salmon
      • Fish recipes
      • Salad Meals
    • Quick and Easy
    • Soups
    • One Pot
    • Stews
    • Slow Cooker
    • Sides
      • All
      • Salads & veg
      • Show Off Salads
      • Rice (all)
      • Fried rice recipes
      • Rice (plain)
      • Potato
    • Pasta
      • All
      • Pasta bakes
      • Pasta salads
    • Sweet
      • Cakes
      • Candy
      • Cheesecakes
      • Cupcakes & Muffins
      • Cookies
      • Puddings & Cosy Desserts
      • Bite Size
      • Pies
      • Slices & Bars
      • Frosting & Icing
      • Ice cream
    • Cuisine
      • Asian
        • All
        • Stir fries
        • Noodles
        • Soups
        • Chinese
        • Japanese
        • Korean
        • Thai
        • Vietnamese
      • French
      • Greek
      • Indian
      • Italian
      • Mediterranean
      • Mexican
      • Middle Eastern
      • South American
    • Dietary
      • Gluten Free
      • Low Calorie
      • Vegetarian
    • Other Categories
      • BBQ
      • Breakfast
      • Burgers
      • Cocktails
      • Party Foods
      • Rice Recipes
      • Roasts
      • Sandwiches & Sliders
    • Cookbook recipes
  • Collections
  • About
    • Me
    • RecipeTin Meals
    • Free Recipe Books
    • Contact
    • Nitty Gritty
      • Policy: Use of Recipes & Images
      • Privacy & Disclosure
Home Collections Curries

Massaman Curry

By:Nagi
Published:22 Aug '18Updated:5 Aug '23
387 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

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!

Overhead photo of two bowls with Massaman Curry on rice with a side salad, ready to be eaten

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!

Overhead photo of Massaman Curry in a black skillet, fresh off the stove ready to be served

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!!!

Cooking beef for Massaman Curry

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!

Aromatics for Massaman Curry Paste

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.

Lemongrass and dried chillies for Massaman curry

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.

How to make Massaman Curry 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.

Best store bought Massaman curry paste

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.

Preparation steps for Massaman Curry

Close up of Massaman Curry in a black skillet, fresh off the stove

Massaman Curry over right rice in a rustic brown bowl, garnished with peanuts, fried Asian shallots and fresh red chillies, ready to be eaten

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!

Close up photo of Thai Fish Cakes on a plate, ready to be eaten
Thai Fish Cakes
Close up of Thai Chicken Satay being dipped into Thai Peanut Sauce
Thai Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
Coconut Shrimp / Prawns with Spicy Thai Mango Sauce
Coconut Shrimp / Prawns with Spicy Thai Mango Sauce
These Thai Meatballs are packed with bright, earthy Thai flavours! Make these with chicken or pork. recipetineats.com
Thai Meatballs

On the side

Plate of Jasmine Rice
Jasmine Rice
Two bowls of Thai Fried Rice, ready to be eaten
Thai Fried Rice
Fluffy coconut rice in a white bowl, ready to be served.
Coconut Rice (fluffy, not gluey!)
Asian Slaw in a salad bowl with Asian Dressing, ready to be served
Asian Slaw – healthy, crunchy Asian Cabbage Salad
Asian Sesame Dressing - made with soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and sugar. Lasts for 3 weeks, an essential pantry standby! recipetineats.com
Asian Sesame Dressing
Overhead photo of Asian Side Salad, ready to be served
Asian Side Salad
Close up of Smashed Cucumbers in a rustic bowl, ready to be served
Smashed Cucumber Salad

Watch how to make it

Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.

Overhead photo of two bowls with Massaman Curry on rice with a side salad, ready to be eaten

Massaman Curry

Author: Nagi
Prep: 30 minutes mins
Cook: 2 hours hrs
Total: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Curry, Main
Thai
4.98 from 126 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 272
Recipe video above. Not the fastest recipe in the world, but worth it! Rich and beautifully fragrant with the signature hint of smokiness, this mild curry is one of the most popular Thai curries ever. While many restaurants tend to tone down the spices and substantially increase the sugar, this recipe is based on authentic versions by Thai food authorities including David Thompson and Sujet Saenkham of Spice I Am. Super easy to adapt to other proteins – see notes!
STORE BOUGHT CURRY PASTE version – see bottom of recipe

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:

STORE BOUGHT CURRY PASTE directions: Use Maesri brand if you can, it’s the cheapest and best by far. Use the whole can – 114g/4oz – or the same amount of other brands. 
  • 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.
1. Lemongrass preparation: Cut lemongrass to leave you with just the bottom 8 cm / 3″. Peel off the reedy outer layers, then trim the tough base off, leaving you with a pale green / white stem. This part will be used for the paste. The trimmings are used in the beef braising broth.
2. Chillies – This curry is not supposed to be spicy, just a warm hum. This recipe is made with the generic Asian dried chillies purchased from Asian grocery stores which are usually not that spicy. It is not made with Thai Chillies which are considerably spicier (cut down to 2 or 3).
The spiciness of chillies (dried and fresh) is like playing roulette – at different times of the year, they go up and down. The only way to really control how spicy your curry will be is to taste the chilli. If it’s not that spicy, proceed with the recipe. 
But if it’s spicy, then feel free to dial it back – 3 is a good starting point, 2 if you are really concerned.
You can substituted with other dried red chillies but always check spiciness first!
3. Eschalots = French onions = those small red / purple baby onions. Can sub with 1 red onion, peeled and quartered.
4. Galangal – Looks like ginger but with a red skin and harder to cut. Tastes like citrusy/piney ginger. Found at everyday supermarkets in Australia. If you really can’t find it, sub with ginger + zest of 1 lime.
5. Beef – Massaman is supposed to be made with large pieces of meat, rather than small bite size pieces, so the meat needs to be slow cooked to become tender and absorbs the flavour of the braising liquid. Can be substituted with brisket but make sure you trim off the thick layer of fat, otherwise the sauce ends up too greasy. Gravy beef is also suitable, as long as you can find large pieces.
OTHER PROTEINS: Pork, goat, rabbit, bone in chicken pieces, lamb. Cut into large pieces and just simmer until fork tender, adjusting liquid level with water if required to end up with about 1 1/2 cups liquid at the end. I’ve had Massaman Lamb Shank at a restaurant and it was EPIC!
6. Tamarind – Sour paste used in South East Asian cooking. Sold in jars at supermarkets in Australia in the Asian section. Can substitute with lime juice (2 tsp) or vinegar (1 tsp).
7. Asian Fried Shallots – Little pops of salty, fried, crispy goodness I’m addicted to! Sold in the Asian aisle of supermarkets in Australia but better value at Asian stores!
8. Blitzing – You need a decent food processor for any curry paste, to ensure it’s powerful enough to blitz the ingredients into a smooth paste.
9. Storage: terrific served fresh and also Keeps well in the fridge for 3 days. I imagine it freezes well – just give the sauce a good stir to smooth it out.
10. Recipe source: Another RecipeTin Family effort! We find many Thai restaurants tend to dumb down the spices and make the sauce too sweet. So we looked to more authentic recipes from David Thompson (the man!) and Sujet Saenkham of Spice I Am fame for inspiration on how Massaman curry really should be done. After three or four cracks at it, we love we’ve ended up and hope you will love our Massaman curry as much as we do!
11. Nutrition per serving. I never said this was diet food! To cut back on calories, trim the excess fat from the beef (the nutrition calculator isn’t smart enough to do this, this will cut out loads of fat) and reduce oil from 3 to 2 tbsp. Please don’t sub coconut milk with the lite stuff, it doesn’t have nearly enough coconut flavour for this curry. Also, the potato can be subbed with non carb veg – this will also lower the calories.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 747cal (37%)Carbohydrates: 27g (9%)Protein: 38g (76%)Fat: 56g (86%)Saturated Fat: 28g (175%)Cholesterol: 103mg (34%)Sodium: 951mg (41%)Potassium: 1398mg (40%)Fiber: 4g (17%)Sugar: 5g (6%)Vitamin A: 20IUVitamin C: 16.9mg (20%)Calcium: 113mg (11%)Iron: 11.2mg (62%)
Keywords: Massaman Curry
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

I adore Thai curries!

Proof:

Thai Green Curry in a black skillet, fresh off the stove
Thai Green Curry
Thai Red Curry with Chicken in a skillet, fresh off the stove.
Thai Red Curry with Chicken
Panang curry close up photo
Panang curry – real deal, from scratch
Slow Roasted Lamb Shanks in Massaman Curry
Lamb Shanks Massaman Curry
Freshly made Thai Yellow Curry
Thai Yellow Curry
Thai Red Curry with Chicken in a skillet, fresh off the stove.
Thai Recipes
Overhead photo of chicken tikka masala on basmati rice in a dark rustic bowl with a piece of naan wedged in on the side.
Curries

Life of Dozer

His eyes boggle at the sight of a big slab of beef…. OMG OMG….

Dozer the golden retriever dog ogling over beef
Previous Post
Crispy Zucchini Fritters
Next Post
Homemade Filet-O-Fish (BAKED!!)

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Related Posts

Bowl of Qeema - Indian Curried Beef Mince over basmati rice

Qeema – Easy Indian Curried Beef Mince

Freshly made pot of Kuku Paka (African chicken curry)

African Chicken Curry – Kuku Paka

Freshly cooked Coconut chicken curry

Golden coconut chicken curry

More Curries

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Cooked this? Rate this recipe!




387 Comments

  1. Willie says

    September 4, 2023 at 2:13 pm

    Beautiful recipe. Would
    Iike to try with chicken next time But not sure if I should simmer chicken chicken stock instead?

    Reply
  2. KayBards says

    September 2, 2023 at 6:46 am

    5 stars
    EPIC! Used the tinned curry paste with the additions per recipe. Didn’t have galangal so used ginger and lime zest.
    Nagi , you dont disappoint. And thank you for the suggestions and workarounds in your recipes. Very helpful.

    Reply
  3. JoPo says

    August 28, 2023 at 2:46 pm

    5 stars
    This is sooo delicious! My husband Rooster loves it – it’s his favourite!

    Reply
  4. Darcy says

    August 21, 2023 at 6:08 am

    5 stars
    Hi Nagi, I’ve made this before and it is insanely good! I’m wanting to make again this week, but wondering if I could braise the beef the night before and pop it in the fridge until I put the curry together, to save time?

    Reply
  5. Andrew says

    August 19, 2023 at 6:03 pm

    5 stars
    A really authentic tasting massaman curry with different layers of flavour.

    I have yet to find a Nagi recipe which has left me disappointed.

    Thank you Nagi!

    Reply
  6. JT says

    July 9, 2023 at 4:31 am

    5 stars
    Tastes amazing

    Reply
  7. Lisa says

    June 30, 2023 at 7:48 am

    5 stars
    Loved it, I made this with the Maesri paste, it was delicious.
    Awesome flavours and very tender meat

    Reply
  8. Sandy says

    June 29, 2023 at 9:44 am

    5 stars
    Just delicious. I was pressed for time so used the tin of Maesri paste as per your directions. The flavor was wonderful. It didn’t last long! Another winner.

    Reply
  9. Rhondalee says

    June 24, 2023 at 8:46 pm

    Did everything to the letter and beef was still tough .. can only blame the beef used chuck steak and topside cut into chunks and after 3 hours very slow cooking was still tough. Flavours were there but not texture 😞

    Reply
  10. Kate says

    April 19, 2023 at 9:06 pm

    Made this tonight using the maesri tin for the paste and was sooo good!! 🙌🏻 recipetineats is always my go to website for any recipe

    Reply
  11. JM says

    April 17, 2023 at 3:12 pm

    I’m still confused. when using the store bought Maesri Masaman that we toast the curry paste and brighten it up with a fresh hit of garlic, ginger and lemongrass paste before adding the coconut milk.
    So you said to
    “Follow Beef steps to cook beef and make broth;
    Skip all curry paste making steps;
    Under Curry Sauce steps, use store bought paste”

    So do I still do the “Char Aromatics” and “Spice Paste Dried Spices” instructions?

    Reply
    • Liz says

      June 18, 2023 at 4:38 pm

      JM – you just ignore the “char aromatics” and “Dried spices..” – these ingredients and method would only be used if making your own fresh paste. Follow Nagi’s instructions for “Beef” then skip to “Curry Sauce”, incorporating the extra ginger, garlic and lemongrass (mentioned in the “Notes”) when cooking the Maesri paste. Sometimes so much information and options can be confusing, but I assure you worth the effort. The best tasting massaman beef!

      Reply
  12. Jase the Ace says

    April 15, 2023 at 7:19 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you so much yet again Nagi!!
    Just made this using the Maesri paste again and it is perfect!
    Very easy to prepare, slow cooked some topside steak for about 4 or 5 hours and it was amazing.
    Cheers for all your hard work.

    Reply
    • Angela Brownbill says

      June 14, 2023 at 11:11 am

      When you did the slow cooker, did you still simmer the beef in broth first and roast the curry paste? Or just chucked everything in the slow cooker and let it work it’s magic?

      Reply
  13. Cc says

    April 13, 2023 at 11:34 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious, Nagi your curries are insanely good! I made it with Maesri paste & pimped it as you suggested. I used the whole can, it’s very small. I added a cup of water to make more sauce which reduced to perfection. Served it to my family & in-laws, was a big hit! Thank you

    Reply
  14. Will says

    April 13, 2023 at 1:52 am

    Hi, this looks great. Can I make it in a slow cooker? Thanks

    Reply
  15. Marin says

    April 7, 2023 at 1:23 pm

    5 stars
    I prepared this recipe to a T, including making the spice paste from scratch. I highly recommend doing this as it is a flavour bomb!

    Having a Vitamix makes everything easier, as you just throw everything in after toasting. I didn’t bother to grate the galangal. I also left 2 chillies with seeds in for a bit of heat.

    I do recommend frying (gentle heat-just above low) the spice paste for about 10 mins , till it turns a real deep brown colour & the oil separates from the paste. It makes the world of difference in colour & depth of flavour in the final dish.

    Thanks Nagi for another perfect recipe!

    Reply
  16. Georgia says

    February 20, 2023 at 6:35 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! I was very hesitant as I have previously made a different recipe in the slow cooker and it was horrid! But this was amazing, the meat simmering in the broth makes such a difference!

    Reply
  17. Maggie Tarry says

    February 13, 2023 at 8:37 pm

    5 stars
    Absolute perfection – I used the Maesri curry paste. The beef was so tender – I roasted the peanuts. Just love your recipes – never fail. I actually served it with your Basmati Rice I do chop up a shallot and garlic clove and gently saute before adding the rice. Yummo – thanks Nagi

    Reply
    • Karyl says

      April 12, 2023 at 1:09 pm

      Hi, did you use Msesri curry paste and if so, how much did you use?
      If you used Maesri Massaman curry paste, did you use the entire small can? Thanks

      Reply
      • Maggie says

        April 12, 2023 at 1:19 pm

        Hi Karyl, yes I used the whole small can 114g – enjoy :O)

        Reply
  18. Phyllis says

    January 27, 2023 at 11:26 am

    Hi Nagi, is there any need to double ingredients for massaman curry sauce if doubling amount of meat is using about 2kg

    Reply
  19. Jase the Ace says

    January 6, 2023 at 8:00 pm

    Absolutely amazing yet again, thank you so much Nagi, you are an absolute legend!!!!
    Never had Massaman curry before, made it with your tweak using the Maesri paste and it is awesome!
    Ps stumbled across your dinner evening for your recipetinmeals charity and if you choose to do one in South Australia we’ll be the first to buy tickets. Thank you so much for all your efforts and everything you you do!

    Reply
  20. Kevin Notting says

    January 5, 2023 at 10:33 pm

    5 stars
    loved it! Flavour blast is a pay off for the finicky bits. Totally worth the effort. Our family meals are next level thanks to Nagi. Cheers legend…

    Reply
Older Comments

Primary Sidebar

Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

Free Recipe eBooks

Join my free email list to receive THREE free cookbooks!

Meet Dozer

Official taste tester of RecipeTin Eats! Meet Dozer
As Featured On
  • Goodfood
  • Food Network
  • Better Homes Gardens
  • Taste
  • Nine
  • Network 10
  • BuzzFeed
  • Daily Telegraph
  • Women's Day

Never miss a recipe!

Subscribe to my newsletter and receive 3 FREE ebooks!

Subscribe
Recipes
  • All Recipes
  • By Category
  • Collections
About
  • About Nagi
  • About Dozer
  • RecipeTin Meals
Related
  • RecipeTin Japan
  • Food Bloggers Central
Help
  • Contact
  • Image Use Policy
© RecipeTin Eats 2023
  • Privacy Policy & Terms
Site Credits
Maintained by Zao Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled
All Rights Reserved

Subscribe to my newsletter

Sign up and receive 3 FREE EBOOKS!