massaman curry

last updated on October 29, 2026

This massaman curry is my forever favorite curry! Honestly there is no need to go to your fav Thai restaurant to buy this curry, because it is SO easy to make at home and tastes just as good!

Growing up my family made lots of different curries, from all over the world! The ones we made most often were Indian butter chicken, Japanese curry, African curry, and this massaman curry! And this one is my favorite. It just has such a great flavor and is light but filling. It’s perfect.

what is in massaman curry?

• coconut milk
• massaman curry paste
• fish sauce
• carrots
• potatoes
• sweet potatoes
• beef stew meat (optional)
• cashews
• cilantro

Most of these ingredients are very standard, but sometimes it is tricky to find the massaman curry paste and fish sauce. Both can be found in most standard grocery stores, but they can certainly be found in any Asian grocery store! They are essential in this recipe and this curry really doesn’t work without them!

what meat do i use in this recipe?

I love to use beef stew meat in this recipe. It is cheap but tastes amazing with this curry. Further, to get it even more tender, I love to slow cook the meat! I add it to a crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours. If you don’t have time for this, you can just add the raw meat directly to the curry and let it cook with the vegetables, but slow cooking it makes it so tender and is worth the extra effort.

But, if you are vegetarian / do not like beef, just leave it out! This curry is still incredible without the meat. Do whatever works best for you!

I cannot wait for you to try this recipe! I think this will quickly become your favorite recipe too!

massaman curry

[category] Main Course

[published] June 21, 2021

[PREP] 10 minutes mins

[COOK] 30 minutes mins

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Ingredients

• 2 cans coconut milk
• 3 tbsp massaman curry paste
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/2 cup carrots
• 1 red potato
• 1 small sweet potato
• 1 lb beef stew meat or tofu
• cashews
• cilantro
• 3 cups cooked jasmine rice

Instructions

1. If you are slow cooking the beef, add it to a crock pot and cook on high for 4 hours, or low for 8 hours.
2. Add coconut milk into a large pot over medium heat. Add curry paste and fish sauce and stir. While the mixture is starting to simmer, peel and chop the carrots, potato, and sweet potato into bite sized pieces.
3. Add the vegetables to the pot. If you did NOT slow cook your beef, add it along with the vegetables. Let the mixture cook, covered, on medium low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. If you SLOW cooked your beef, add it to the mixture just before the vegetables are tender.
4. Once the vegetables are cooked through, serve the curry with rice and top with cashews and cilantro! Enjoy!