Beef Massaman Curry

I got the reputation for being cooking-obsessed while in my third year of undergrad. A classmate of mine decided that I must therefore be known as a Spice Girl. 

She asked me what spice name I should have and I suddenly felt put on the spot. “Allspice?” I offered. I got a blank stare in response. I don’t blame her for that reaction – I don’t think I’ve ever even cooked with the stuff! Instead she chose to call me ‘Mel D’ and has done so ever since.

But I do love spices, very very much. That is why I became obsessed with Massaman Curry, a Thai dish chock-full of savoury ingredients that I first had at a restaurant called Khao San Road in downtown Toronto. This place became a word-of-mouth sensation after it opened over a year ago, and it is impossible to go there for dinner without waiting in line because they are full every day of the week (unless you arrive before 5:30pm). The restaurant's claim to fame is simply the very flavourful, authentic and generous portions of excellent Thai dishes that they serve. However, I think they also grab folks my age especially because they play 90s music really really loud. Also, the chef is a former nurse from Thailand who was convinced to come here by a Canadian tourist who happened to be sitting with her on the back of an elephant. They are now married. How cute is that?

I got addicted to this dish because of the spices, yes, but also because I was making a habit of ordering any item containing tamarind off the menu of every South/Southeast Asian restaurant I found myself in. I had convinced myself that tamarind was a sweet, creamy fruit, something like an avocado, because of the texture of the curries it was used in. Boy, was I wrong.

Tamarind is sour. Very sour. But when it is cooked with sweet ingrdients like coconut milk and palm sugar, it acquires that complex richness of flavour that I began to crave. Thus began my journey of learning about Thai ingredients and where to get them. Luckily my journey was very short, which is good because I’m impatient when hungry. The big Asian supermarket chain in Canada, T&T, has a Southeast Asian section where you can find all the dry goods used in this recipe (and more!). Also, Thai basil can be found in the produce section there.

A couple of notes on substitutions: Palm sugar comes in solid pod-like bricks – you have to pulverize it in a food processor to grind up. If that’s too much trouble you can use raw cane sugar or light brown sugar instead.

If you can’t find coconut cream at your local Asian grocery store, you can make your own by separating the creamy liquid from the watery liquid in a can of coconut milk. I find that usually, the cream and milk have already separated inside the can when you open it, so if you don’t shake it at all, you can just scrape the coconut cream off the top! If you use this method for the recipe, use two cans of coconut milk, separated into water and cream, and then follow as directed.

I’d also like to say a few words about stewing meat. Please make sure that the beef you choose has fat  running through it (for example, chuck roast). Lean meat will not work in this recipe because it will get very tough from the long cooking time, which is necessary to develop the delicious flavours in this curry. Trust me, once the smell of it starts wafting through the air you will know it is worth the wait. Because no beef is exactly the same (and I don’t have beef with that) I adjusted the recipe to be a bit less about timing and more about cues based on the readiness of ingredients.

I think you will love this curry! My dad is totally unfamiliar with Thai flavours and yet he was snacking on leftovers of this without even reheating it first! I’ll pass on eating cold curry but agree that the spices get even better the next day and the day after that.

Beef Massaman Curry

Adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Yield: 4 servings

800 grams (or 1.8 lbs) of cubed stewing beef

2 tbsp peanut oil

1 package (50 grams) of Massaman curry paste (Namjai brand, found at T&T Supermarket)*

8 green cardamom seeds

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

8 small shallots, peeled

1 can (400ml or 14 fl oz) coconut milk

1 cup water

3 tbsp fish sauce

5 small red or white waxy potatoes, cleaned and halved

½ can (280ml or 9.5 fl oz) coconut cream

1 tbsp tamarind paste

4 tbsp ground palm sugar (can substitute light brown sugar or raw cane sugar)

4 tbsp of shelled roasted peanuts

2 sprigs fresh Thai basil leaves

Jasmine rice (2 cups dry, cook according to package instructions)

In a large bowl, stir the beef with 1 tbsp peanut oil and the massaman curry paste. Mix thoroughly to coat the beef and set aside.

In a large saucepot or dutch oven, toast the cardamom seeds, cinnamon stick and star anise over medium heat until they become fragrant. Remove the spices from heat and grind to a powder using a coffee grinder or a mortar and pestle.

In the same pot, gently fry the whole shallots over medium-low heat until the outsides are translucent. Add the curry-coated beef and the ground cardamom, cinnamon and star anise. Stir well to coat the beef in oil and fry over medium heat until the beef is browned on all sides.

Pour coconut milk, fish sauce and between ½ and 1 cup of water over the beef until it is just covered by the liquid. Stir well until the mixture comes to a low boil (bubbles slowly rising to the surface), and then turn the heat down to very low and cover the pot. Allow the curry to gently simmer, covered, for 1 hour.

After an hour, remove the lid from the pot and check if the beef has become fork-tender. If it is not ready, stir the curry, cover and continue to cook for another 15 minutes, then check the beef again. Once the beef is fork-tender, stir in the potatoes, peanuts and half of the basil leaves. Make sure the potatoes are fully submerged in the curry liquid and turn up the heat to medium-low. Cook the curry, uncovered, for another 20 to 25 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender.

Once the potatoes are cooked, turn off the heat and add the palm sugar, tamarind paste, coconut cream and remaining basil leaves to the curry. Stir thoroughly and serve with cooked Jasmine rice.

*If you can’t find Massaman curry paste in stores, here is a recipe for making your own. If you use the paste with my curry recipe, simply omit the cardamom, cinnamon and star anise parts from my instructions since you won’t need to use them twice.

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