Massaman Curry with Chicken

Massaman is one of my favorite curries.  It is a Thai dish with Muslim origins.  It is commonly made with beef but you can also use chicken, lamb, pork or tofu.  The name Massaman is thought to be derived from the word Musulman which is a linguistic variation of the word Muslim.  Thai Massaman curry has an abundance of warm spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Serves 2
recipe from Blue Elephant Cooking School
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Paste:
1 stem coriander root
2 cloves garlic
15g shallot

Curry:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons Massaman paste
1 cup coconut milk
2 tablespoons water (optional)
150g chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
100g sweet potato, boiled and diced
1 tablespoon ginger, sliced
1cm cinnamon stick
2 pieces of cardamon
2 bay leaves (optional)


Seasoning:
1 1/2 tablespoon tamarind (use rice wine vinegar or apple vinegar if you can’t find tamarind)
1/2 tablespoon fish sauce (use salt if you don’t like fish sauce)
1 1/2 tablespoon palm sugar (use brown sugar and double the amount if palm is not available)

For the paste:  in a mortar, finely pound the paste ingredients.  To make the curry, heat a saucepan on medium heat and add oil.  Add the paste from the mortar and mix with the oil until an aroma develops.  Add the Massaman paste and stir until combined.  Add the coconut milk a bit at a time allowing the oil from the milk to rise above the curry, then add more milk and continue this process until all milk is used.  Add potato, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cardamon and ginger.  Let the curry reduce a bit then season with palm sugar, tamarind and fish sauce.  Add the chicken and simmer until the curry has thickened and the chicken is cooked.  Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with coconut cream, cashew nuts and coriander leaves.


The Culinary Chase’s Note:  If you’ve never had Massaman curry, you are in for a treat.  Unlike Indian or Malaysain curries, this one is not as spicy.  If you find the coconut milk is too thick, you can add the water to thin it.  If you can find palm sugar, make sure to dissolve it in the sauce first before adding it as this helps to dissolve the sugar.  If you don’t want or don’t have time to make the Massaman paste, a store bought version will suffice.  Enjoy this with a side of fragrant jasmine rice.