I love visiting book fairs and would not miss out any one of these if I can help it. If these fairs happen to be on weekdays, then I cannot help it but give them a miss. Luckily these fairs are usually still on during weekends and held over at the Singapore Expo, which is near where my in-laws live. That means I can "park" my children with Mum-in-law and shop for books!
It was at one of these fairs that I bought a book totally on stir-fry dishes. Actually it was the Hubby who found the book. Since it's stir-fry, it featured many Asian, mostly Chinese-styled stir-fries. But quite a number of the recipes also feature Thai ingredients, especially curries. There are recipes for red, green and yellow curries. One of the more unusual curries (at least for me) in this book is the Mussaman curry or Massamun curry. I found out that both meant the same thing, sometimes being spelt as Matsaman curry.
It looked suspiciously like a Thai curry, or at least a Southeast Asian rendition of a curry that might have originated from India. The picture in the stir-fry cookbook I bought featured a really appetizing looking curry, not glaringly red, but one with a tinge of orange. It didn't look so spicy, something my two kids might enjoy. One of the ingredients is of course the mussaman curry paste. I don't remember seeing such a paste for sale in the supermarkets I usually visit. So I searched the net for some information on this interesting looking curry and a recipe to make this paste. This is what I found:
Massaman curry (kaeng matsaman) is a southern Thai dish that is Muslim in origin. It is most commonly made with beef, but other meats like duck, chicken and pork (for non-Muslims) may also be used. The curry is cooked with coconut milk (much like all the curries that I usually eat), and roasted peanuts or cashew nut are added.
The nuts seems to be an interesting texture to add to a curry. But the ingredients and the method to prepare the paste is a little challenging for me. There are simply too many spices and herbs to gather, some had to be roasted, others chopped or sliced before all of them can be pulverized or grind into a paste. I have decided that this is one paste that I will definitely procrastinate making manually. Anyway, just to keep a record of what I had dug out for the paste recipe, this is the site to visit for Massaman Curry Paste. And in case it goes missing or information got lost or whatever mishap which I wish would not ever happen, this is the recipe jotted down into my blog:
Massaman curry paste
1 tbsp coriander seeds, roasted
1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
4 oz (about 100g) shallots, finely chopped
1 oz (about 25g) garlic, finely chopped
4 oz lemongrass (bottom part of stem only), finely sliced
1 tbsp sliced galangal
1 tbsp chopped coriander root
1 tsp grated kaffir lime rind
1 tsp ground white pepper
10-15 large red chillies, roasted, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
1-2 tbsp Thai shrimp paste
Method: (my understanding) basically pound/grind everything except the shrimp paste very finely, into a paste, no chili pieces should be visible. Once this is done, mash in the shrimp paste with a pestle.
To me, this is a hell of a job. But I want to make this curry. And so, I made it a point to keep my eyes peeled for massaman curry paste whenever I shop at any supermarket. Of course I could visit the Little Thailand at Beach Road, but being a stay-at-home Mum, I stayed at home, or rather near home, most of the time. During weekends, I usually do not have any business visiting town or any area near town. And so, days thinking about making massaman curry fly past until the June holidays.
We went to Bangkok for holidays this June and guess what, I found the "elusive" massaman curry paste! During that trip, we went to this supermarket (maybe mega-market is a better term) located near to Intercontinental Hotel at Sukhumvit Road, called Big C. The place was really huge (much like Carrefour at Suntec or Giant at Tampines Retail Park). And my spoils of shopping war - red, green, yellow and massaman curry pastes!
The first time I made this mussaman curry, I followed the recipe to the last alphabet and punctuation recorded in the book, and cooked it stir-fry style over the stove top ^_^ (and I used the supermarket brand, the Big C brand massaman curry paste). The first attempt proved to be quite a hit with the kids. They love the mellow and slightly tangy curry. The curry looked more brownish than reddish, and it really wasn't that spicy even though chopped red chillies were added at the last stage of cooking. I bought some roasted peanuts to sprinkle on top of the curry before eating. The crunchiness was an added fun besides the tang provided by the tamarind paste.
The second time I made this curry, I used another brand from the same supermarket. This paste gave a slightly redder color to the curry, and it is a touch more spicy than the Big C brand. For the second attempt, I decided to convert this stir-fry curry into a slow cooking one to add on to my slow cooking list of recipes. Instead of chicken breast meat pieces, I used whole chicken thighs including drumsticks and potatoes were cut into large chunks. I did not bother with roasted peanuts for the second attempt. Instead I added more tamarind paste to increase the tanginess. The coconut milk used in the original stir-fry recipe was quite a lot, so I reduced that for my slow cooking version. The kids still love this curry cooked the slow, slow way and it seems that this particular brand is a little spicier than Big C house brand. Here's what I did for this curry using a slow cooker ~
Mussaman curry
(adapted and modified from "Wok and stir-fry: A collection of easy and elegant recipes", Paragon Books Ltd, 2006)
Total cooking time in the cooker: 7 hours (6 hours on LOW, 1 hour on HIGH)
Ingredients
4 chicken thighs including drumsticks, bones in and skinless
2 large yellow onions, cut into chunks
4 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
50g massaman curry paste
250ml water
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp tamarind sauce*
100ml thick coconut milk
1 chili (cut into about 2mm slices)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
1. Heat 2 tbsp of oil and saute both onions and potatoes until slightly browned. Dish out and set aside.
2. Add 1 tbsp of oil and fry the paste over a very low flame (to prevent burning) until the paste release its fragrance. Add the chicken pieces, one by one and coat them all over with the paste.
3. Add the onions and potatoes and try to coat everything with the curry paste as evenly as possible.
4. Add the sugar and water and bring the whole mixture to the boil.
5. Off the heat, transfer the whole content into the slow cooker, placing potatoes and onions at the bottom and the chicken pieces at the top. ^
6. Cover with lid and cook on LOW for 6 hours. By then the chicken would be soft and tender, the potatoes will still be a little firm.
7. At this point, add the tamarind sauce, the coconut milk and red chili slices. Turn the temperature to HIGH and cook for 1 hour. Do not exceed 1 hour on HIGH as the coconut milk will curdle. Season with a little salt if necessary.
Notes:
* Tamarind sauce is prepared by dissolving (squeezing the pulp) tamarind paste in a small amount of water. For this recipe, I used 2 tbsp of tamarind paste to about 7 tbsp of water. Drain away the seeds before spooning into curry.
^ I find that chicken can cook fairly quickly in a slow cooker, hence I placed chicken pieces on top of the vegetables. The liquid I used did not cover the chicken pieces, but slow cooking on low has the effect of steaming. So my chicken pieces were pretty soft and tender (also juicy) after 6 hours of slow cooking on LOW. The potatoes on the other hand still had some firmness to it even though they were basically cooked, or rather, not raw. Another 1 hour on HIGH managed to soften these potatoes adequately.
 |
| A picture from the second attempt, slow cooking style |
Massaman curry (kaeng matsaman) is a southern Thai dish that is Muslim in origin. It is most commonly made with beef, but other meats like duck, chicken and pork (for non-Muslims) may also be used. The curry is cooked with coconut milk (much like all the curries that I usually eat), and roasted peanuts or cashew nut are added.
The nuts seems to be an interesting texture to add to a curry. But the ingredients and the method to prepare the paste is a little challenging for me. There are simply too many spices and herbs to gather, some had to be roasted, others chopped or sliced before all of them can be pulverized or grind into a paste. I have decided that this is one paste that I will definitely procrastinate making manually. Anyway, just to keep a record of what I had dug out for the paste recipe, this is the site to visit for Massaman Curry Paste. And in case it goes missing or information got lost or whatever mishap which I wish would not ever happen, this is the recipe jotted down into my blog:
Massaman curry paste
1 tbsp coriander seeds, roasted
1 tsp cumin seeds, roasted
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
4 oz (about 100g) shallots, finely chopped
1 oz (about 25g) garlic, finely chopped
4 oz lemongrass (bottom part of stem only), finely sliced
1 tbsp sliced galangal
1 tbsp chopped coriander root
1 tsp grated kaffir lime rind
1 tsp ground white pepper
10-15 large red chillies, roasted, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp coarse sea salt
1-2 tbsp Thai shrimp paste
Method: (my understanding) basically pound/grind everything except the shrimp paste very finely, into a paste, no chili pieces should be visible. Once this is done, mash in the shrimp paste with a pestle.
To me, this is a hell of a job. But I want to make this curry. And so, I made it a point to keep my eyes peeled for massaman curry paste whenever I shop at any supermarket. Of course I could visit the Little Thailand at Beach Road, but being a stay-at-home Mum, I stayed at home, or rather near home, most of the time. During weekends, I usually do not have any business visiting town or any area near town. And so, days thinking about making massaman curry fly past until the June holidays.
We went to Bangkok for holidays this June and guess what, I found the "elusive" massaman curry paste! During that trip, we went to this supermarket (maybe mega-market is a better term) located near to Intercontinental Hotel at Sukhumvit Road, called Big C. The place was really huge (much like Carrefour at Suntec or Giant at Tampines Retail Park). And my spoils of shopping war - red, green, yellow and massaman curry pastes!
The first time I made this mussaman curry, I followed the recipe to the last alphabet and punctuation recorded in the book, and cooked it stir-fry style over the stove top ^_^ (and I used the supermarket brand, the Big C brand massaman curry paste). The first attempt proved to be quite a hit with the kids. They love the mellow and slightly tangy curry. The curry looked more brownish than reddish, and it really wasn't that spicy even though chopped red chillies were added at the last stage of cooking. I bought some roasted peanuts to sprinkle on top of the curry before eating. The crunchiness was an added fun besides the tang provided by the tamarind paste.
The second time I made this curry, I used another brand from the same supermarket. This paste gave a slightly redder color to the curry, and it is a touch more spicy than the Big C brand. For the second attempt, I decided to convert this stir-fry curry into a slow cooking one to add on to my slow cooking list of recipes. Instead of chicken breast meat pieces, I used whole chicken thighs including drumsticks and potatoes were cut into large chunks. I did not bother with roasted peanuts for the second attempt. Instead I added more tamarind paste to increase the tanginess. The coconut milk used in the original stir-fry recipe was quite a lot, so I reduced that for my slow cooking version. The kids still love this curry cooked the slow, slow way and it seems that this particular brand is a little spicier than Big C house brand. Here's what I did for this curry using a slow cooker ~
Mussaman curry
(adapted and modified from "Wok and stir-fry: A collection of easy and elegant recipes", Paragon Books Ltd, 2006)
Total cooking time in the cooker: 7 hours (6 hours on LOW, 1 hour on HIGH)
Ingredients
2 large yellow onions, cut into chunks
4 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
50g massaman curry paste
250ml water
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp tamarind sauce*
100ml thick coconut milk
1 chili (cut into about 2mm slices)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
1. Heat 2 tbsp of oil and saute both onions and potatoes until slightly browned. Dish out and set aside.
2. Add 1 tbsp of oil and fry the paste over a very low flame (to prevent burning) until the paste release its fragrance. Add the chicken pieces, one by one and coat them all over with the paste.
3. Add the onions and potatoes and try to coat everything with the curry paste as evenly as possible.
4. Add the sugar and water and bring the whole mixture to the boil.
5. Off the heat, transfer the whole content into the slow cooker, placing potatoes and onions at the bottom and the chicken pieces at the top. ^
6. Cover with lid and cook on LOW for 6 hours. By then the chicken would be soft and tender, the potatoes will still be a little firm.
7. At this point, add the tamarind sauce, the coconut milk and red chili slices. Turn the temperature to HIGH and cook for 1 hour. Do not exceed 1 hour on HIGH as the coconut milk will curdle. Season with a little salt if necessary.
Notes:
* Tamarind sauce is prepared by dissolving (squeezing the pulp) tamarind paste in a small amount of water. For this recipe, I used 2 tbsp of tamarind paste to about 7 tbsp of water. Drain away the seeds before spooning into curry.
^ I find that chicken can cook fairly quickly in a slow cooker, hence I placed chicken pieces on top of the vegetables. The liquid I used did not cover the chicken pieces, but slow cooking on low has the effect of steaming. So my chicken pieces were pretty soft and tender (also juicy) after 6 hours of slow cooking on LOW. The potatoes on the other hand still had some firmness to it even though they were basically cooked, or rather, not raw. Another 1 hour on HIGH managed to soften these potatoes adequately.
Hi Vincent of Petitchef.com,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interest in my blog, and invitation to add to Petitchef.
Glad you enjoyed my humble place.