Beef Massaman Curry - The heaven of all Thai curries. Well balanced spices, creamy, gently sweet. The first time I tried beef massaman curry was at Digbeth Dining Club in Birmingham (U.K.) and since then it has been my favourite curry. Going out often wasn't possible then with a tiny baby (and now due to Covid) so I had to learn to cook it myself. I’ve made it many times and have created a perfect recipe with a quick sauce requiring only a few ingredients.
It’s quick to make, if using expensive beef cuts, however takes longer when using cheaper cuts e.g. flank, leg, skirt, even beef cheeks, as you'd need to slow cook the beef, and that makes the curry even more delicious.
My recipe suggests to use soft brown sugar, however if you don’t want to add the sugar you can add more peanut butter and that would make up for it.
I also recommend using full fat coconut milk as it’s much creamier. I always go for full fat everything as I prefer my food to be full on flavour.
INGREDIENTS
700g beef flank steak
1 can (400ml) full fat coconut milk
1 jar (190g) / 4tbsp beef massaman curry paste (I use Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients)
1 onion cut into thin half moons
1 heaped tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1tbsp soft brown sugar
1tbsp tamarind paste (I use Waitrose Cooks’ Ingredients)
1tbsp fish sauce
2tbsp desiccated coconut
1tbsp chopped coriander plus more for serving
Cinnamon stick
METHOD
Heat 1 tbsp coconut milk/cream in a casserole dish or a frying pan with a lid. Add the massaman curry paste and fry for 1 min, then stir in the beef and fry until well coated. Add the onion. And cook until the beef is sealed.
Add the remaining coconut milk, peanut butter, sugar, tamarind paste, fish sauce, coconut, coriander and a whole cinnamon stick.
Cook for about 1.5-2h hours on medium heat on the hob stirring occasionally, or 2.5h in the oven 160’ if cooking in a casserole dish. Add half a can of water, if required during cooking.
If the sauce is too watery for your liking, take the lid off and cook on a higher hob setting.
If using steak e.g. sirloin or ribeye, make the sauce first, cook through for about 20 minutes until the onions are soft, then fry the steak separately to your liking, slice and add to the curry together with steak juices. Stir well and serve immediately.
Serve with rice, sliced red chillies and coriander.
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