A few weeks ago I was posting on Instagram some pictures of my trip to Thailand and telling you how excited I was about all the ingredients and recipes I got to know and all the inspiration I brought back to share on the blog. As you know Thai food is one of my favourites, a proof of that is that I've posted some Thai recipes already such as the som tam salad or the larb gai.
I've been there a couple of times and I know for sure I'll go back because it's a place that you fall in love with very easily.
I didn't want to miss the opportunity of learning more about their cuisine once there and with local people so I signed up for a Thai cooking class in Bangkok. It was one of the best culinary experiences I ever had, to me getting to know the food culture when I travel is essential and I enjoy it so much, specially with Asian food that fascinates me and I never get tired of exploring and tasting.
I loved learning about typical Thai ingredients, specially those we don't know or commonly use here. Also found interesting learning about their cooking techniques, methods and even how they preserve and season the food so I could then recreate them at home considering a few adaptations with some ingredients we don't find easily here.
I can tell you just having a walk around a market is so captivating, a wonderful reflect of their culture and people, their fresh and local produce... So many colourful and exotic fruits, diverse and abundant veggies, loads of local ingredients that will leave you speechless.
So in order to stop running on (noticed how excited I get speaking about Asian food?) I'm going to move forward with the recipe of this Massaman curry that amazed me when I tried it. I was surprised of how different it is from other red, green and yellow curries I tried before, specially in terms of spiciness. It is super tasty and spiced with a sweet touch that makes it so different. Massaman curry is actually a type of red curry, the red colour comes from the red chillies but this one doesn't have that bright red colour because it doesn't have that much chillies in it. Could be said that this is one of the mildest Thai curries, therefore it is perfect for those who don't like spicy food. In any case you can always play with the amounts of your choice adding more or less hotness, saltiness, sweetness...
As you know a curry is basically a mixture of spices. There are multitude of types of curry pastes: yellow, red, green... and a wide variety from different Asian countries like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh... and as in this case from South East Asia, namely from Thailand.
They normally are made using a big granite mortar and a pestle and mashing all the ingredients: dry spices such as peppercorns, cumin seeds, cloves, cardamom pods... and other fresh ingredients and roots like lemongrass, red and green chillies, ginger or galangal (Thai ginger), turmeric or coriander roots...
Although the traditional method is using a mortar and a pestle we can use a food processor to make it easier, you'll see I use both at this time though.
A great thing is that once the curry paste is done you can preserve it for a very long period of time keeping it in a glass jar in the fridge. Therefore it is worth to make a fair amount so you can have it ready for other occasions. With the quantities below you'll have 5-6 table spoons so it will be enough for a couple of times.
Massaman curry can be made with chicken, beef, duck meat or tofu if you want a vegetarian version. It always has potatoes, peanuts, coconut milk, tamarind and fragrant spices like cinnamon and cardamon. I added up some spinach leaves to provide a green touch to the recipe.
Hope you join me in this gustatory travel to Thailand with all the delicious scents of this massaman curry.
THAI MASSAMAN CURRY RECIPE
INGREDIENTSFor the curry paste
- 3 dry red spur chillies (or more if you like), seedless and soaked 15 minutes
- 1 sweet onion, sliced
- 3 Tbsp garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
- 1 piece of fresh ginger (about 3 cm) or galangal, chopped
- 2 Tbsp ground lemongrass or 1 piece of fresh lemongrass
- Zest of 1/2 lime or kaffir lime, only green part
- 1 tsp. pink Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 2 cloves
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
For the rest
- 10 small free-range chicken breasts or thighs, cut into small pieces
- 1 big potato, peeled and cut into cubes
- 2-3 Tbsp curry you made
- 1 can coconut milk
- Roasted peanuts
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 1/2 Tbsp tamarind paste or juice
- 4 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1/4 cup palm, coconut or brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp sesame, coconut or peanut oil
- Fresh spinach leaves (optional)
- Cooked basmati or jasmine rice
- To garnish: chili sauce, fresh coriander leaves, lime wedges...
METHOD
Of the curry paste
- First we roast the following spices: coriander and cumin seeds, peppercorns and cloves for about 2 minutes in a pan with no oil, making sure they don't burn.
- Then we put it in the mortar with the lemongrass and mash it until we get a powdered texture.
- The same way roast the onion, garlic, ginger and the lime zest.
- Place in food processor along with the spices and the chillies and blend at high speed until you get a smooth paste.
- Mix with some oil and keep in the fridge for several months.
Of the rest
- Cook the potato.
- Use a wok or large pan, drizzle some oil and ad 2-3 Tbsp of the curry paste and stir until fragrant.
- Then ad the chicken and cook a bit until golden, then ad the coconut milk, fish sauce, tamarind sauce, sugar, bay leaves, cardamon and cinnamon stick.
- Simmer until cooked and tender, ad the spinach at the end and wait until the sauce gets a little thicker.
- Ad the cooked potato, the peanuts and stir.
- Serve with some rice and some spicy sauce, coriander leaves, lime wedges, season to taste.
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