Serve Massaman curry with steamed Jasmine rice and squeeze fresh lime juice on top. Tips and Substituions Aroy-D - another brand that I use quite often cuz it’s widely available; and if Mae Ploy isn't available this is the one I get. They also make my go-to coconut milk. Step 2 Open the can of coconut milk and scrape off the coconut cream. Add the cream into a heavy bottomed pan over a medium heat, (If using low fat coconut milk or it has not separated use 20ml vegetable oil). Massaman curry is flavored with massaman curry paste – a curry paste that has sweeter notes to it. The paste is traditionally made with ingredients such as red chilies and flavored with ginger, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, and spices like cardamom, coriander, cumin, and cinnamon.

Cumin seeds .A citrusy and earthly spice. Cumin powder is acceptable to use. Use ½ the amount in the recipe.

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Lemongrass. Use fresh lemongrass.Frozen and chopped lemongrass is fine too. Read more about Lemongrass and how to use it in Thai cuisine.Find Namjai: A near-tie to Mae Ploy. It has a redder colour (if that matters to you) and a slightly milder shrimp paste flavor. For each type of paste, there’s a basic expectation of what it should taste like; but like any recipe, everyone has their own specific formula, hence all these brands.

Toast the dry spices for 2-3 minutes. Once fragrant, remove from pan, transfer to a plate. Let cool. The main takeaway is that there is a huge range between brands of store-bought curry paste. When following recipes, unless you copy the brand that was used by the recipe writer, you cannot assume that you will get a result that is even close to what they got. So you have to use your judgment and be prepared to adjust as needed, (which is something you should do whenever you cook anything anyway.) I have made changes after I have cooked them but they remain basically the same. Mae Ploy Panang Curry Paste: 100g (4 people) Dried red chilies.Use these recommended chili peppers. The spicy ones are Thai bird’s eye chilis, Piri Piri chilis, Thai long chilis(Prik Chee Fah), De Arbol, or dried Serrano chilis. The less spicy ones are usually larger peppers likedried California/Anaheim chilisorGualillo.Thisdried chilis setis a good combination of spicy and mild and is good to have around if you often make your curry pastes.Adjust the spice level of your Massaman paste by reducing the chilis used. Smaller peppers will be spicier than large ones.

Thai Kitchen: The weakest flavour in the group by a long shot. It is not spicy at all (so kid friendly). In this standardized test the curry sauce was too diluted to even determine how good the flavour was. We love Thai food. Probably because of its similarities to Indian food such as spicy curries, coconut, and fragrant rice. Toast the dry spices, cardamon, cloves, cumin, coriander seeds, and white peppercorn on medium heat until fragrant for 2-3 minutes. Keep a close eye on these, as they will burn easily. Using low heat with longer toasting time is fine, too, to prevent burning. Remove the toasted spice from a pan, and transfer to a plate. Let cool. Make-ahead - This curry can be made ahead, simply refrigerate for up to 5 days and reheat as neededI like making my paste best when making curries. Having a good Massaman curry paste makes or breaks your curries. I also know making your own Thai curry pastes seem quite daunting, so if you don't have time to make the Massaman curry paste, these store-bought massaman curry paste brands are the ones I've used and recommend. Step 3 Sear off the beef pieces in the pan until browned, then add the curry paste and cook for two minutes until the aromats are released. You will need a solid stone mortar and pestlefor this method. I recommend using one with a 6 inches mouth opening. When pounding, it's easier to start with the more fibrous and sturdy herbs and then move to softer ones towards the end.

Step 7. Last, add the shrimp paste and use the pestle to pound and mix the paste well lightly. That's it. You are done! Nice job! (; Don't forget to give it a small taste and notice the fresh flavor! Helpful kitchen tools for making Massaman paste Maesri - the only brand that comes in a can, and also the only one with sugar in the ingredient list.

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Maeploy - my current go-to brand. It does contain shrimp paste, which is traditional, but if you’re vegan this one is out by default. I have to say that my favorite brand of curry paste is still Mae Anong, even though it doesn't make for as pretty pictures given its grayish hue. But, I'll definitely be more willing to substitute Mae Ploy or Maesri in the future should the need arise. Ingredients: dried red chile, garlic, shallot, salt, lemongrass, cumin seed, coriander seed, cinnamon, galangal, cardamom. Product of Thailand. Start by frying 50g of the paste with oil, then pour in a cup of coconut milk to form the base of your sauce. Add your meat, along with more coconut milk then bring to the boil. Add cubed potatoes, sliced onion and peanuts and cook until the veg is soft. Thai Kitchen I would use only if this were my only choice. I would also add more chilies, more shrimp paste, and would use a LOT of it, like...the whole jar for a 4-serving curry (which makes it also the most expensive one in this lineup). If I'm cooking for kids or people who cannot handle any spiciness at all, then Thai Kitchen would be a safe choice. What About Other Kinds of Curry Paste?