Southern Thai Massaman Curry – Kaeng Masaman

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 10 tbsp peanut oil or coconut or soybean oil
• 1 kg chicken breast or king prawns
• 120 g curry paste (Massaman curry paste)
• 1 liter coconut milk
• 1 tbsp, heaped chicken stock powder (chicken seasoning powder)
• 8 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp, heaped brown cane sugar
• 1 large sweet potato(s)
• 4 m.-sized potatoes
• 2 chili peppers (optional)
• 5 carrots
• 1 zucchini
• 2 bell peppers, red
• 300 g sugar snap peas
• 3 m.-sized onion(s)
• 5 cm ginger root
• 20 Thai basil leaves (Bai Horapa)
• 1 tbsp, heaped peanut butter
• 1 handful of peanuts
• 2 tbsp garlic, dried
• 20 g cornstarch (optional)

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 10 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 40 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 20 minutes

Peel, wash, and chop the vegetables: Slice the carrots, half the zucchini, dice the sweet potatoes and potatoes (not too small), dice the bell peppers, ring the onions, and finely chop the chilies. Peel the shrimp or cut the chicken into small strips or pieces. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large wok (at least 36 cm for the specified amount), stir in the curry paste, and fry for 3 minutes. Add the chicken/shrimp and stir in, then immediately deglaze with the coconut milk. Add the chicken powder, fish sauce, brown sugar, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and chilies. Bring to a boil, and simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes over medium heat. Add the bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, and snow peas, and simmer with the lid on for another 10 minutes. Then add the onions, peanut butter, dried garlic, and grated ginger, stir well, and cook for another 5 minutes. The potato starch should make the curry relatively creamy. If you like it even creamier (like me), mix 20 grams of cornstarch with a splash of water, add it, and let it boil for another minute. Remove the wok from the heat, stir in the peanuts and basil, and let it steep with the lid closed for at least 10 minutes. It goes well with Thai jasmine rice prepared using the steeping method. Tips The curry tastes best if you let it steep overnight in the fridge and then eat it the next day. The curry will keep in the fridge for 4-5 days, even if you reheat it every now and then. You can of course vary the vegetables; if you like it even crunchier, you can add them later, or leave out a vegetable or replace it with another. Coriander, lemongrass, and chilies are already included in the curry paste. However, you can optionally add all of the ingredients. Two more chilies make the curry medium-hot. Lemongrass and coriander, however, quickly become too strong to taste, so caution is advised. For me personally, the taste of the paste is enough.