When David and I visited Thailand last year, we learned how to make massaman chicken curry in a cooking class. It was so delicious! I bought some massaman curry paste in the airport on our way home with some of our excess Thai Baht, but I promptly lost the curry paste once we returned home. While packing for our recent move, I unearthed the curry paste and counted the hours until I could finally make the fabulous curry in our new place.
Here’s a picture of the curry we whipped up in Thailand. Massaman curry is on the milder side, and it usually includes some kind of potato.
I really wanted to learn how to make curry paste from scratch in Thailand, but I was too busy being sick during our originally-scheduled cooking class. So if you can’t find massaman curry paste in the market, well, I am very sorry for your loss.
To make this one, get a can of coconut milk (avoid the low fat kind- it is too watery). If you’re including potato in the curry, cook it almost all the way through, either by microwaving, baking, or boiling it. A sweet potato adds nice color. Once the potato is cooked, remove its skin and cut it into chunks. Thinly slice 1 shallot as well.
Thinly slice 2 chicken breasts by using a sharp knife to shave them on the diagonal.
Once the curry add-ins are prepared, add 3 tablespoons of the curry paste to a pot over medium heat, and stir it around until it becomes fragrant. Then, pour the can of coconut milk into the pot, and whisk it until it fully combines with the curry paste. Bring the curry to a simmer, and then add in the chicken, potato, and shallot. Put a lid on the pot, and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid from the pot, and add in 3/4 cup of whole cherry tomatoes. The tomatoes are so delicious to eat with this curry, adding a savory-sweet component, so don’t leave them out. Continue to simmer the curry for another 5-10 minutes until the tomatoes burst, the chicken is cooked through, and red oil from the curry paste has risen to the top. You can simmer the curry with the lid on if it has a good consistency or with the lid off if it needs to thicken.
Serve the curry over rice, garnishing it with chopped, toasted peanuts and fresh cilantro. I LOVE the flavor of massaman curry. I had some leftovers and put them onto my homemade baguette for a tasty sandwich- it was fabulous. Now that I’ve used up all of my airport curry paste, I’m off to find some more.
Shopping list:
- Massaman curry paste- 3 tablespoons
- Coconut milk- 1 can (approximately 14 ounces)
- Sweet potato- 1
- Shallot- 1
- Chicken breasts- 2
- Cherry tomatoes- 3/4 cup
- Peanuts- 1/4 cup
- Cilantro
- Rice
It looks amazing!
Found the Massaman paste on Amazon….making this tonight!
We ate every bit of it! Very easy to make, mild and satisfying. Thanks so much for sharing. Only 2 mods were that I didn’t have breasts so used boneless skinless thighs sliced thin and I used a white potato.
Thanks so much for checking back in! You’ve given me a curry craving (I average about 3 per week!).