I’m a lover of thai food but I’ve always found cooking it
myself a little daunting – numerous ingredients (some of which I’ve never even
heard of) and lengthy cooking times… But I’m proud to say I think I have mastered
this one, the massaman curry, my personal favourite. This dish is delightfully
fragrant, not too spicy and so delicious. It is a little complex and requires
several pots but it is definitely worth it. Follow my lead… (Serves 4.)
What you’ll need
For Curry Paste
2 dried long red chillies
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoonds ground cumin
2 teaspoonds ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon ground clove
3 cloves garlic
1 large brown onion, chopped coarsely
2 x 10cm sticks of fresh lemon grass, sliced thinly
3 fresh kaffir lime leaves, sliced thinly
4cm piece of ginger, chopped coarsely
1 tablespoon peanut oil (you can also use sesame depending
on your flavour preference)
For Massaman Curry
800g of your preferred meat (I like to use chicken, but you
can use steak or pork as well)
1½ cups chicken stock
¼ teaspoon ground clove
1 tablespoon grated palm sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 x 400ml cans of coconut cream
1 brown onion, chopped finely
4 potatoes, quartered
450g tin sliced pineapple
¼ cup roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 green onion, sliced thinly
What to do
First you need to make your curry paste. You can buy the
bottled stuff from the Asian aisle in the supermarket if you are a little short
on time, but I love to make it myself. Fry off the coriander, cumin, cinnamon,
cardamom and clove in a small fry pan, stirring until fragrant. Place these
spices and remaining ingredients into a blender and process until smooth. Easy!
(This paste will keep for 2 weeks in a sealed container in the fridge.)
Now for the curry. Place stock, clove, sugar, sauce and half
of the coconut cream into a large saucepan. Simmer uncovered until fragrant
(usually about an hour, but if you are short on time 30mins will do). Remove
from heat and reserve this fragrant liquid in a container.
Meanwhile, cook rice in another saucepan, and cook potatoes
in a third saucepan. (Don’t worry this is the most pots you will have going at
once!)
Using the empty saucepan that had the fragrant liquid in it,
cook onion, chicken and 3 tablespoons of your curry paste, stirring until fragrant. Add remaining
coconut milk and bring to the boil. Add 1 cup of the fragrant liquid back to the
pot. Stir. When chicken is cooked, add cooked potatoes, pineapple and peanuts.
Stir and remove from heat. Serve with rice and garnish with green onion.
I promise it’s worth the effort! Delicious.
Photos by Krissie.