RICK STEIN’S MASSAMAN BEEF CURRY (GAENG MASSAMAN)

Thai massaman curry (also known as Gaeng Massaman) is a popular traditional dish native to the southern region of Thailand. It’s a rich and creamy curry full of delicious, aromatic spices and made with beef, coconut milk, peanuts and potatoes. While beef is the traditional meat used in a massaman curry recipe, chicken and lamb make great alternatives too (recipes may need to be adjusted to suit the best cooking times for the meat used). 

This recipe in part is inspired by Rick Stein’s Beef Massaman Curry Recipe as featured in his 1998 book ‘Far Eastern Odyssey’ where he shares his love and discovery of the curry:

Rick Stein says: "I found this curry at the hotel I was staying at during filming, the Royal Orchid Sheraton on the Chao Phraya river in the centre of Bangkok. The Thai restaurant there, called Thara Thong, was unexpectedly good, and I say this because you don’t usually expect to find a really good restaurant in a giant hotel catering for international conferences. The chef was very much a home-style cook specialising in royal Thai cuisine, albeit with a no-nonsense head-chef demeanour about her.

The massaman curry is the Thai version of the Muslim curries of northern India, made really special by the use of fish sauce, shrimp paste, lemongrass and palm sugar, but the element I find beguiling is the black cardamom, which gives the curry a delightfully smoky flavour."

This Thai beef massaman curry is the ultimate comfort food. Combining a range of spices in a curry paste and fragrant ingredients in a flavoursome but mildly spicy sauce, tender pieces of beef and soft chunks of potatoes. To achieve the perfect fall-apart beef, this recipe requires slow cooking and a little patience but is 100% worth it. This slow cooking allows for more depth of flavour to soak into the meat for a wonderful taste with every bite. Once cooked, serve this recipe with Thai jasmine rice for a complete meal.