Huge Massaman Curry
Prep
20m
Cook
120m
Total
140m
Bigly says
Pay attention. Massaman curry. HUGE massaman curry. This is the BIGGEST, the RICHEST, the most TREMENDOUS curry on planet Earth — the kind of curry the world stopped to appreciate, the kind that should have its own postage stamp, its own holiday, its own parade — and instead it gets ignored while everybody fights about Tikka Masala on the internet. Sad. Pathetic. We're fixing that today. Right now.
Massaman — and many people don't know this, even people who eat curry every week, you would be amazed at the ignorance out there — massaman is the slow cousin of the Thai curries. It's got CINNAMON. Cinnamon in a curry, who thought of that, a genius, an absolute genius, probably 400 years ago in southern Thailand where the trade winds brought spices from everywhere and somebody looked at the pile and said 'put it ALL in the pot,' and they did, and the result is the GREATEST stew the human race has ever produced. The Romans had stew. The Greeks had stew. Their stew could not compete. Not even close. It's not even close, it's a slaughter. They would WEEP.
This is a Sunday curry. A low-and-slow curry. The kind you put on the stove, you walk away, you live your life, you read a book, you come back, and your kitchen smells like a place you actually want to live in for the rest of your days. People come over, they smell it, they say 'Bigly, what is happening in here?' I tell them. I tell them: this is what happens when you respect the curry. The curry will respect you back. It's just a fact.
Ingredients
- 2.5 lbbeef chuck, cut into 1.5-inch cubes(chuck, the marbled stuff, the real stuff)
- 4-5 tbspThai massaman curry paste(Maesri or Mae Ploy)
- two 13.5-oz cansfull-fat coconut milk
- 1.5 cupsbeef stock or water
- 1.5 lbYukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 1 largeyellow onion, cut into wedges
- 1/2 cuproasted unsalted peanuts
- 1cinnamon stick
- 2star anise pods
- 3cardamom pods, lightly crushed
- 2bay leaves
- 3 tbspfish sauce
- 2 tbsppalm sugar (or brown sugar)
- 1 tbsptamarind paste (or 2 tbsp lime juice)
- 2 tbspneutral oil
- as neededjasmine rice (for serving)
- 2 tbspcilantro, chopped (for garnish)
Steps
- 1
Pat the beef cubes dry and season lightly with salt. Heat the oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- 2
Sear the beef in batches, 2-3 minutes per side, until deeply browned. Don't crowd the pot. Transfer to a plate as you go.
- 3
Open one can of coconut milk without shaking. Scoop the thick cream off the top (about 1/2 cup) into the pot. Reduce heat to medium.
- 4
Cook the coconut cream 3-4 minutes until bubbling and the oil starts to separate.
- 5
Add the massaman curry paste. Fry, stirring constantly, 2-3 minutes until darkened and very fragrant.
- 6
Return the beef to the pot along with any juices. Stir to coat in the paste.
- 7
Add the remaining coconut milk from both cans, the beef stock, cinnamon stick, star anise, cardamom, and bay leaves.
- 8
Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 75-90 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beef is fork-tender.
- 9
Add the potatoes, onion, and peanuts. Stir in fish sauce, palm sugar, and tamarind paste.
- 10
Simmer uncovered another 25-30 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the sauce has thickened slightly.
- 11
Taste and adjust: more fish sauce for salt, more sugar for sweetness, more tamarind for tang. Fish out the whole spices if you like.
- 12
Serve over jasmine rice with chopped cilantro on top.
One more thing
Let this curry sit for an afternoon, serve it over jasmine rice with a little cilantro on top, and watch — you WATCH — your family go silent at the table. Silent. They forget their phones exist. They forget their grudges. The brother-in-law nobody likes? Suddenly tolerable. The teenager? She makes eye contact for the first time in a year. That is the power of massaman. That is the HUGE energy. Make a huge batch — the leftovers are even better the next day, the leftovers might be the best part, the leftovers are the SECRET WEAPON. Tremendous.
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Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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