Chicken Curry massaman Thai Curry

Chicken Massaman Curry

Name: Chicken Massaman Curry
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 1 packet of My Thai Curry Massaman Curry paste.; 500 g of chicken breast or thighs sliced.; 400 mL can of coconut milk.; 150 g of small potatoes.; 1 onion for garnish if using.; 1 Lime.

July 20, 2016 4 Comments

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See also Beef Massaman. Lamb Shank Massaman.
แกงมัสมั่น
That nice curly script above is how we spell the name of this curry in Thai. I put it there because it won't be long before someone tells me I've spelt it wrong in English! Truth is that you can't always transcribe Thai to English accurately, two different alphabets and this can be spelt a variety of ways but I'll go with this one. To my way of thinking there is a lot of Malay influence in this paste with the various spices, it's also one of the very few dishes in Thailand that we cook with potatoes. One thing I can tell you is that I've made this paste from the traditional recipe and that it is one of the most time consuming and complex pastes to make so please treat it with respect :-) By that I mean please don't use one of those dreadful "reduced fat" coconut milks, it just won't work, the additives they put in that stuff to keep it together also break down in cooking and you'll end up with a not very nice tasting soup!
Quick guide here, Coconut Milk Summary or if you would like to see the difference between different brands of coconut milk the full article is here; Cooking Thai Curry with Coconut Milk.

I'm using one can coconut milk for around 500 g of meat and about 150 g potatoes for every 500 g of meat. You will also need an onion if you want to garnish it as in the top picture. The pastes are complete but it is always a good idea to have a little lime juice to hand to adjust sweetness to your personal taste, if needed, at the end of cooking. You also adjust saltiness by adding a little more fish sauce or salt if required.

If you want to garnish with some fried onions as above then best to cook them ahead. Slice thinly, cook and drain on kitchen paper and reserve.

Halve some small potatoes and saute them in vegetable oil for about 10 minutes until just browned. Just wash them clean, don't peel them or they may break up in the sauce.

Remove potatoes from the pan and put to one side and add the chicken pieces. Brown for a few minutes and then remove, you'll cook it fully in the sauce later.

Add the paste to the pan with half a can of coconut milk. Heat gently while stirring.

When it's started to bubble return the chicken and potatoes to the pan and bring to a slow simmer

Add some (or all) of the remaining coconut liquid depending on how thick you like your sauce.

Turn heat down and cover for 10 minutes.

After 10 min remove the lid and cook on medium heat for about 15 min to reduce the sauce or you can also add more liquid at this stage if need be. Stir from time to time making sure the potatoes don't break up and the sauce doesn't burn.
Garnish with the fried onion if using and serve with rice. Enjoy!

Enjoy!

If you like this recipe please click the star rating or add a comment below! Kop Khun Kha, Nitsa.x

Chicken Massaman Curry

Rated 4.3 stars by 15 users

Cuisine

Thai

Servings

Prep Time

10 minutes

Cook Time

25 minutes

Calories

563

To my way of thinking there are few dishes more heavenly than a good Massaman curry, my only dilemma is what meat or fish I should cook it with as it seems to work with almost anything. We use potatoes so rarely in Thai cuisine but they just work so well in a Massaman curry dish it would be a sin not to include them. I’m confident I make the best Massaman curry paste you can buy, I have seen so many shortcuts in the recipes for Massaman curry paste that I often think it no longer deserves to be called Massaman. I have made a totally traditional Thai curry paste here, no shortcuts, just take a look here. Let’s get cooking, I promise you, it’s worth it:-)

Ingredients

1 packet of My Thai Curry Massaman Curry paste.
500 g of chicken breast or thighs sliced.
400 mL can of coconut milk.
150 g of small potatoes.
1 onion for garnish if using.
1 Lime.

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Directions

If you are going to garnish with some fried onions as in the pictures above it’s best to cook them ahead. Slice thinly, cook and drain on kitchen paper and reserve. A cheat is to use the ready cooked fried onions available in supermarkets but I prefer to fry them as above,
Halve some small potatoes and sauté them in vegetable oil until they are just browned, this will take about 10 minutes. Don’t peel the potatoes or they may break up in the sauce.
Remove them from the pan and add the chicken sliced into large pieces as in the pictures, don’t be tempted to cut the pieces bite-size. Sear the chicken in the pan for a few minutes until brown and then remove it, the chicken will be fully cooked later in the sauce.
Add one packet of My Thai Curry Massaman Curry paste to the pan with half a can of coconut milk and bring to a simmer whilst stirring.
When it starts to bubble, return the chicken and potatoes to the pan and bring to a slow simmer. Turn the heat down and cover for 10 minutes.
Remove the lid and cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the sauce does not burn. These timings will ensure the chicken is cooked but test the potatoes with a fork to ensure they are also cooked. At this stage you can add the remainder of the coconut milk if you wish depending on how thick you like your curry sauce. Adjust seasoning if required. You can adjust the sweetness with the lime here or diners can do it at the table.
Garnish with the fried onion if using and serve with rice. Enjoy!

Recipe Note

As always using the “right” type of coconut milk is a game-changer. See here.

Nutrition details do not include rice.

Nutrition

Serving Size 1
Calories 563, Sugar 5.1 grams, Sodium 880.2 milligrams, Fat 32.9 grams, Saturated Fat 26.2 grams, Carbs 23.2 grams, Fiber 4.3 grams, Protein 43.8 grams, Cholesterol 121.7 milligrams

4 Responses

Andrea

August 03, 2025

First of all, big thanks from a complete beginner for the lovely pastes and recipes. The green, red and yellow curries have all been a big hit in my house and now I am about to try the Massaman paste for the first time. As my family are big on vegetables I would like to add water chestnuts, baby corn and mangetout to this recipe. Is this recommended/allowed and if so at what stage should I add them?

Also, if I don’t want to include the fried onion topping, would you recommend adding an onion to the recipe, possibly sauteeing it before the potatoes and chicken and then adding it back in to the recipe at step 5?

———
mythaicurry replied:
Thank you for your e-mail, glad you are enjoying the pastes so much! There are no hard or fast rules regarding what you wish to put in a Thai Curry. Providing you start out with an authentic Thai curry paste then you can add whatever ingredients you wish. In this case the cooking times will depend on the vegetables that are involved, but most likely no more than 10 or 15 minutes before the end. Certainly, you can saute an onion and add it into the curry just before the end. Hope that helps!

Deanna

January 14, 2023

Incredible!! Made chicken Massaman tonight it was absolutely gorgeous thank u Nisa! X

Alan Wells

December 20, 2021

Excellent. I copied the recipe almost exactly except I used bone in chicken thighs. I also added some chopped red chilli and chopped peanuts. Loved it as did everyone else. My sister-in-law is here from Spain and I’ve given my packs to her to take home so I’ll be ordering more.

Phil

November 12, 2017

Great recipe, to be used with Nitsa’s own massaman paste. What a difference a great curry paste makes…..
Wonderful flavours, hands down the best massaman curry I’ve cooked. You can’t go wrong with this, just like the other recipes on this site.
Heartily recommended!

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