Massaman Curry

[sabaijai]

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

Yep, that's the way it's done for all Thai curries that use coconut milk (ka-ti). The more discerning cooks stir-fry the paste in hua ka-ti (the creamiest 'head' of fresh-squeezed coconut milk) and then add the haang ka-ti (the thinner 'tail' of the coconut milk). No need to use oil as hua ka-ti is plenty oily

Making your own paste is the way to go. Any good homemade paste will beat Nittaya's (and I used to be a Nittaya customer - now I'm married to a Thai chef). There are many variations -- I'll post a classic matsaman formula here when I'm back at my desktop computer.

[sbk]

Tutsi, no need to marinade your meat, but you will need to cook the whole thing long enough to soften the potatoes, and its better if you let the coconut milk condense a little (I know that isn't the right word but I just can't think of it right now...) ie, let it simmer for a while so the coconut milk cooks down a bit.

[tutsiwarrior]

Tutsi, no need to marinade your meat, but you will need to cook the whole thing long enough to soften the potatoes, and its better if you let the coconut milk condense a little (I know that isn't the right word but I just can't think of it right now...) ie, let it simmer for a while so the coconut milk cooks down a bit.

when you say condense I think that you mean evaporate (same process but at the opposite end of the thermodynamic scale)...yeah...best to get rid of some of the moisture...

in the end it turned out a treat...the curry has a unique characteristic; alternately sweet and savory...we had a big salad bowl of the stuff and I went for seconds and it was mostly finished...dese thais don't wanna admit when a falang has a good food suggestion

now I got a pork roast thawing out on the counter in the cooking area of our Magnificent Rear Terrace...while I was gone working in saudi we picked up a cat, nice lookin' calico female, so now I gotta look out for the animals stealin' the meat...

goin' crazy wid the pork...must have sumpin to do with living inna muslim country (dem ragheads don't know what they're missin')...gonna do tutsi's famous roasted ribs tomorrow

[feffejonsson]

I have been cooking a lot from this website. Everything really tasty. Never tried the massaman though.

http://www.realthairecipes.com/recipes/

[aircut]

<br />

Sorry for correcting you:<br /><br />Start coking a massaman curry you have to fry the paste first in some oil.<br />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.<br />"Nittaya" is the best brand for massaman and other pastes.<br /><br />Gerd

<br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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 <img src="style_emoticons/default/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="smile.gif" /><br />

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Ready made masaman curry paste that sold in fresh Thai markets is already fried! note the shiny color and oil that floats to the surface. (as opposed to geng pet for example). that why i think your cook and neighbors don't fry the paste.

If you are making your own paste than there is no argument. you must fry the paste!

[chefshane]

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

This is a widespread but erroneous belief.

Sealing meat does NOT actually contain the juices at all, and this has been tested and proven beyond doubt.

It is a chefs legend that is taught and handed down.

Sealing actually causes what is called 'the Maillard effect" - a caramelisation of the proteins and sugars on the meat surface, and occurs under specific conditions.

Basically it gives the meat more flavour - the same difference as you will find between the same piece of beef boiled - or roasted.

Thai beef is not so wonderful in quality - as a rule - but second class cuts (cheap and tough) are used for slow cooking (stewing and braising) because this style of cooking (a very gentle simmer in sauce or liquid at 85 degrees C or less) breaks down connective tissue which becomes moist and appealing in texture - especially in curries and casseroles.

First class cuts - "steaks" such as tenderloin (fillet), rib eye, sirloin, rump can be cut into strips and stirfried fast for a 5 minute massaman.

The sauce will be nice, but the meat 'lacking.'

The best way is to do it twice:

1/. braise chunks of beef brisket, shin or shoulder in fried massaman paste with water and a little coconut for 2 hours until moist and tender and melt in the mouth. Towards the last 20 minutes, add raw potato and cook until soft. This is not the curry. This is the beef and potatoes.

2/. Make massaman paste by pounding the herbs and spices (or buy from the Muslim lady at the local market - not the commercial packs like Nittaya or Mae Ploy - terrible taste!)

As Gerd says, fry the paste until it becomes aromatic and then add coconut cream (fresh is best) bit by bit, almost splitting before each addition.

Add the onions, cook out, then add the beef and potatoes.

Finish the sauce by seasoning with nam pla, kaffir lime - check body and adjust with sugar.

Garnish with roasted or fried peanuts, basil leaves.

The same way applies for FAST cooking - best is fillet steak - local stuff OK, sliced across the grain and seared fast, then added into the sauce with cooked potatoes.

The (more expensive) fillet steak is not as nice as the cheap nasty braising cut due to the fast cooking, and lack of moistness, fat and braising.

try and see.

Enjoy your curries.

[thaigerd]

Thanks Chefshane, great post .

Just preparing some BBQ spare ribs for tonite.

Gerd

[spysee]

Massaman curry is my favourite dish of all. Its the one dish that come close to being as good as sex.

Edited June 7, 2009 by spysee

[paddydubai]

Making the paste from scratch is really easy. You need quite a few ingredients but no particular skill!

If I made a green or red curry paste, I would always do it from scratch, as it has much more freshness and zing than anything ready made. With mussuman, it doesn't matter so much because there are no fresh herbs like coriander and no citrus. Its distinctive, comforting taste comes more from the warm, sweet spices like cinnamon and cloves.

But anyway, here's how I would do it. Feel free to add any extras if you like, or miss any of them out if you don't like. And as one of the other posters have said, if you make this from scratch, you will need to gently fry it first in hot oil to release the flavours, before you add the coconut milk.

Ingredients:

3 red chilies (or as many or few as you like), sliced5 shallots, sliced

about 8 cloves of garlic (if you roast the shallots and garlic first, it enriches the taste, but it's not essential)

a thumb of galangal, or ginger, finely sliced

2 stalks of lemon grass, sliced and tough outer skin removed

1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons turmeric

2-4 cloves

a good pinch of nutmeg (or 1 grated fresh nutmeg)

a good pinch of cinnamon (or about 1 inch of fresh cinammon bark, broken up small)

1 teaspoon white pepper

a good splash of fish sauce

1 teaspoon shrimp paste

Either mash the whole lot together with a mortar and pestle (the traditional method) or sling it all into a blender (the easy method, I know which one I prefer), adding just a little water to make it slick. Mix until you have a paste. If you use a blender, it might be difficult to scrape it all out once it's mixed, so use a little bit of the coconut milk to make it easier.

That's it! Easy, eh? Now all you have to do is fry it off, add your coconut milk, get all that infusing together and just below boiling, then add your meat, chicken or whatever, and your big chunks of potatoes, put it on a low heat and leave it for a good long while, depending on what meat you've used. I'd say about 50 minutes for chicken, up to 2 hours for beef.

It's ready when the oil is splitting from the sauce and forming little bubbles on the surface. If it's getting too thick and sticking to the pan, gradually add water - NOT more coconut milk.

What's Thai for 'bon appetit'?