Massaman Curry

[Totster]

Anyone got a decent tried and tested recipe ?

TIA

Totster

[sbk]

Do you have access to Mussaman paste or do you need a recipe for that too?

Mussaman is best cooked for awhile, so that the potato absorbs the taste of the mussaman paste.

Basic recipe here: enough coconut milk for however much you want to make (I make a large bowl at a time, but you may want to make more). Heat coconut milk, stir in mussaman paste (mixed with a bit of shrimp paste) to taste, just as it begins to boil add potato chunks (I like bigger pieces) cook until just beginning to soften, add chicken (traditional recipes use chicken on the bone, but it is possible to use chicken breast) and then cook until all ingredients are thoroughly cooked. Then add some onion, peanuts and a few bits of the tamarind pieces. You can add fish sauce or sugar to taste. Let it cook a bit longer and then serve with rice.

[Totster]

Do you have access to Mussaman paste or do you need a recipe for that too?

We have a stall in the local market that seems to do all the pastes, bought the Gaeng Keiow Waan one the other day from there.. so should be ok

Maybe include the paste recipe also if you have it, just in case

totster

[thaigerd]

Sorry for correcting you:

Start coking a massaman curry you have to fry the paste first in some oil.

Add the coconut milk and simmer until your coconut/paste "broth" starts spltting the oil, this is the most important step when cooking a massaman(what I have learned from old hai Chefs). Then adding your beef, chicken, fish or what ever.

"Nittaya" is the best brand for massaman and other pastes.

Gerd

Edited February 5, 2008 by thaigerd

[billd766]

My wife does a superb massaman also panang neua but I don't think she has a recipe as such.

She does it much the same as SBK but perhaps the quantities and some ingredients are slightly different. She has taught me as well but if I use the same ingrediaents it always comes out a bit different.

dam_n it is 10 am and now I feel hungry but we have run out of most stuff though it is market day this morning.

Hope she brings something nice home.

[sbk]

Sorry for correcting you:

Start coking a massaman curry you have to fry the paste first in some oil.

Add the coconut milk and simmer until your coconut/paste "broth" starts spltting the oil, this is the most important step when cooking a massaman(what I have learned from old hai Chefs). Then adding your beef, chicken, fish or what ever.

"Nittaya" is the best brand for massaman and other pastes.

Gerd

Interesting, but not the way our cook does it, nor the local ladies. for a really creamy mussaman you can "fry" the paste in a little bit of coconut milk before adding the rest of the milk, but no, they don't fry it in oil first here:) Regional differences most likely.

Also, have to add, I don't have a Mussaman paste recipe, I buy my paste from the Muslim lady down the road. Absolutely delicious

[p_brownstone]

I think simply throwing the meat into a pot of boiling coconut milk would lose a lot of the flavour.

I always marinade the meat in the Paste with a little bit of the coconut milk to make it mix more easily - how long is up to you - then dry-fry the meat and paste in a hot pan to "seal" the meat and release the oils etc. in the paste, (no real need to use Cooking Oil because the milk contains enough in itself), afterwards add the rest of the coconut milk etc. and heat, without a furious boiling, until the meat is cooked. At this point raise the heat until it gets a rolling boil and, as Thaigerd suggests, keep going until milk begins to separate.

Patrick

[suegha]

Absolutley no need to 'seal' the meat. It's doesn't do anything except start the cooking process.

A marinade is always a good idea if you don't mind the extra work!

[ChangMaiSausage]

Lobo masaman packet always says to fry the paste first until flavour comes to the top (oil seperation)

I have tried several pre-packed brands + a mix from one of the markets but the best is the one that my missus makes from scratch may be it's to do with the love she puts into making it for me,aaaaaaahhhhhhh

[p_brownstone]

Absolutley no need to 'seal' the meat. It's doesn't do anything except start the cooking process.

I would not agree with you there - particularly concerning red meats such as beef and lamb etc..

Sealing (or searing) meat on all sides helps to contain the juices during subsequent cooking - which is the reason I think simply tossing the meat into a boiling vat of coconut milk will dissipate a lot of the taste in a curry.

Patrick

[suegha]

Absolutley no need to 'seal' the meat. It's doesn't do anything except start the cooking process.

I would not agree with you there - particularly concerning red meats such as beef and lamb etc..

Sealing (or searing) meat on all sides helps to contain the juices during subsequent cooking - which is the reason I think simply tossing the meat into a boiling vat of coconut milk will dissipate a lot of the taste in a curry.

Patrick

Sorry Patrick, no it doesn't. I don't know if you know Heston Blumenthal, a top chef in the UK with 3 Michelin stars, he's proven it in his lab. It's just starts the cooking process. Sorry to expose this urban myth!

[katana]

Supermarket version:

[Totster]

Got the paste and tatties from the market.. will give it a go tomorrow..

Thanks for the replies !

Totster

[tutsiwarrior]

that massaman curry sure does sound good; can't wait ta get home an' try it out...someone mentioned a Lobo packet for the paste; I tried one of their hang lay packets and it turned out a treat...the MiL keeps askin' when I'm gonna make hang lay again...

(last time I was at home the wife used a Lobo pork seasoning packet to marinate ribs before roasting...quite tasty)

Edited February 13, 2008 by tutsiwarrior

[Totster]

I cooked it yesterday.. VERY tasty.

However, I overcooked the potatoes.. and found it was very.. rich

Can I water it down ? Will it work ?

The paste was from the very lovely muslim girls in the market.. who previously helped me try and cook the green curry

totster

[Totster]

that massaman curry sure does sound good; can't wait ta get home an' try it out...someone mentioned a Lobo packet for the paste; I tried one of their hang lay packets and it turned out a treat...the MiL keeps askin' when I'm gonna make hang lay again...

(last time I was at home the wife used a Lobo pork seasoning packet to marinate ribs before roasting...quite tasty)

Actually Tuts, if you like a nice Korma, then the Mussaman is the next best thing.

Totster

[tutsiwarrior]

that massaman curry sure does sound good; can't wait ta get home an' try it out...someone mentioned a Lobo packet for the paste; I tried one of their hang lay packets and it turned out a treat...the MiL keeps askin' when I'm gonna make hang lay again...

(last time I was at home the wife used a Lobo pork seasoning packet to marinate ribs before roasting...quite tasty)

Actually Tuts, if you like a nice Korma, then the Mussaman is the next best thing.

Totster

yeah...I gotta try it out. I do a nice potato, cauli and chickpea curry that I got out of a Sainsbury pulses cookbook by Roz Denny that vaguely tastes like a korma (add yogurt at the end before serving) but it didn't go down too well with the folks at home...the coconut milk would make it more authentic...

[LivinLOS]

One variation the missus cooked in Europe was rabbit massaman !! Absolutely superb.. Rabbit has enough of a strong gamey taste to really add to the overall thing.

Getting the missus to cook rabbit however.. That was the battle !!

[sbk]

I'll bet! My husband was absolutely horrified to hear that westerners would eat BUNNIES!

[torrenova]

My missus was horrified as well. Perhaps taking her to my old home in Mallorca and getting some mountain rabbit is not a good idea ?

[suegha]

I was brought up eating rabbit a few times a week. A great meat too. You can do anything with it. Why not have it in a curry!

[thaigerd]

Just 3 days ago I've cooked s beef massaman at home:

I pre-cooked the beef in a beef(Knorr ) stock but added some of the massaman paste in that stock to get the massaman flavour into the meat.

When beef was 90% finished I boiled the potatoes and onions in the same stock(with the meat) and finally put everyting to my ready cooked massaman sauce. Great result.

Gerd

[suegha]

Well done Gerd. It's good to experiment.

[cathyy]

And I made a modified version yesterday. I used the Lobo packet, and cow milk, since my husband thinks he hates coconut milk. I put the meat in to cook first, since I was using pork, then the potatoes. I added the peanuts to mine after my husband got his portion, because he doesn't like peanuts in food. He declared it to be "acceptable" in that he doesn't hate it, but neither does he like it. He'll just barely eat it. I thought it was quite tasty, nice texture, not too spicy.

At least he has better sense than to complain about how much we spend on food since he's the Thai food hater driving up the food bill.

[tutsiwarrior]

aw right...you guys think you bad...lets do a massaman curry online...

I got sum pork loin an' the wife says that there's a woman in the market that whips up the paste...now, we got to get potatos...

the girls are going out to the mrket now...

lets assemble...I don't like coconut milk but that's the secret ingerdient...

marinate thqt pork loin in coconut milk first?

I got a wok and a can ob gas...lets burn this mother down...

[loytoy]

Foodland do curry pastes that are very good. Nam Jai brand only small packages see through. Massaman. Penang, red and green curries.Last time purchased 13 baht.

[tutsiwarrior]

yeah, there are pastes in a packet like Lobo brand but the wife says that there is the homade variety down the market so I'm gonna try that out...

the big question is to marinate before or just go for it? We use Lobo brand marinades fo just about anything...is it suggested in this case?...got nice pork loin...and I wanna use a homade curry paste...don't wanna <deleted> up a good recipie with sum shit...

Gerd, get yer Swiss ass in here an' help out...

[tutsiwarrior]

get up offa yer asses...it's massaman time...

this is an exercise in adolescent behavior...the step daughter has just chopped up the pork and put it inta the coconut milk...her cousins make a display of looking bored in front of the TV. Like any chef I have enthusiasm and that has got my step daughter goin'...pretty soon the bored nieces are gonna come to the cooking area to see what the excitement is about...

now...I love this...in Manchuria 15 years ago I queried preparAtion of a dish set upon the table... there were 10 men with ten different answeres one guy rolled up his sleeves in preparation for violence...

OK...so now we got the paste an' a hot wok...what do we do widdit?

if I don't get no answers I shall name names and effect a banning 'en masse'

George...dr. PP an' sbk line up to waste these fcukers...

Edited July 5, 2008 by tutsiwarrior

[cathyy]

I was taught to fdo the paste with a little bit of oil until it gets fragrant, then add coconut milk. Gerd agrees. SBK doesn't. I don't think it really matters that much.

[tutsiwarrior]

cathy...quit bein' so damned depressed...collective food preparation is supposed to be joyful...

I now have discovered that my wife has never made massaman...it's wunna dose things like for americans...if you say that you never roasted hotdogs people think you clazy...I've just come in from the cooking area an' she is valliantly weilding the wok...I have relinquished control and the dish will probably not taste as I expected...