A rich, aromatic Thai massaman chicken curry once voted the world's most delicious food by CNN. This recipe uses a semi-homemade curry paste made from store-bought red curry paste boosted with toasted spices and shrimp paste, simmered with chicken thighs, potatoes, onions, and peanuts for a deeply flavorful, crowd-pleasing curry.
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Adapted from a video by Pailin's Kitchen
Voted Most Delicious Food in the World - MASSAMAN CURRY
Fermented shrimp paste (gapi)Optional but highly recommended for umami~1 tbspest.
Store-bought red curry paste~3 tbspest.
Bone-in chicken thighsDrumsticks can be used instead~4-6est.
Cooking oilFor searing the chicken~2 tbspest.
Coconut milkFirst half cup used to deglaze and cook the paste; remainder added later½ cup
Bay leaves~3est.
Fish sauce~2 tbspest.
Tamarind paste~1½ tbspest.
Chopped palm sugar~2 tbspest.
Waxy potatoesYukon Gold or other waxy potatoes; avoid starchy potatoes~1½ lbest.
White or yellow onionCut into roughly 1cm vertical strips~2-3est.
PeanutsHalf simmered in, half reserved for garnish~1 cupest.
Jasmine riceFor serving~3 cupsest.
Steps
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1
Toast the cumin seeds alone in a dry pan until slightly darkened and fragrant, then remove.
2
In the same pan, toast the coriander seeds, cloves, and cardamom pods until the coriander browns slightly and smells fragrant, then remove from heat.
3
Grind all the toasted spices into a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder.
4
Add ground cinnamon, nutmeg, shrimp paste (optional), and store-bought red curry paste, then pound together until combined to make the semi-homemade massaman paste.
5
Heat a pot with a bit of oil and sear the chicken thighs skin-side down for 3-4 minutes until golden brown; this step is optional but adds flavor.
6
Remove the chicken, pour off excess fat, add about half a cup of coconut milk, bring to a boil, and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
7
Add the curry paste to the coconut milk and stir, sautéing for 3-4 minutes to cook off the raw spices; add a splash more coconut milk if it sticks, until you see coconut oil separating at the edges of the paste.
8
Once the oil has separated for about 30 seconds, add the remaining coconut milk and stir, scraping the bottom to prevent sticking.
9
Add bay leaves, about half of the fish sauce, half of the tamarind paste, and chopped palm sugar, reserving the rest of the fish sauce and tamarind for final seasoning.
10
Return the chicken along with any collected juices to the pot, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook partially covered for about 35 minutes.
11
After 35 minutes, add the waxy potatoes and onion strips (about 1cm wide), pressing everything down into the liquid; add just enough water to keep the potatoes barely submerged (the onions don't need to be fully submerged).
12
Add half of the peanuts and simmer for another 10-15 minutes until a fork slides easily through the potatoes.
13
Skim off the floating fat, taste the curry, and add the remaining fish sauce as needed to adjust saltiness.
14
Taste again to decide whether to add the remaining tamarind paste to brighten the curry and cut its richness — it should not taste distinctly sour — adjusting gradually to preference.
15
Sprinkle the reserved half of the peanuts on top for garnish and serve with jasmine rice.
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