27 November, 2017
Mussaman Beef Curry Recipe
Mussaman Beef Curry Recipe
(Gaeng mussaman)
This is a spicy Southern Thai curry with Islamic origins. Portugues traders brought spices such as turmeric, cinamon, cumin, cloves and nutmeg from the Middle East and India to the sout coast of Thailand and the Gulf of Siam at the same time as chilli, and this recipe combines these dry spices with Thai sweet, sour and saly tastes. I use shin or topside of beef because the curry needs to be boiled for up to four hours.
Ingredient
11/2 L (3/4) Coconut Milk
100 g (11/2 oz) Mussaman curry paste
1 kg (2 lb 4 oz) beef, topside, shin or shank, cut into 2.5 cm (1-in) pieces
Handful of dried bay leaves (or 6-7 fresh bay leaves)
12 small potatoes suitable for stewing, peeled (or larger potatoes, peeled and quartered)
8 pickling onions, peeled
51/2 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons palm sugar
7 tablespoons Tamarind juice
Fried onions, coriander leaves and slices of chilli, to garnish
Preparation
Heat 200 ml (7 fl oz) of the coconut milk in a large saucepan and add the mussaman paste, stirring together until the oil from the paste separates and rises to the surface.
Add the beef, stirring well to combine with the coconut milk mixture then add the bay leaves and the remaining coconut milk and simmer for 3 hours, until the beef is tender.
Add the potatoes and onions and simmer for a further hour, until the potatoes anr cooked. Season the curry with fish sauce, palm sugar and tarmarind juice, Garnish with som fried onions, coriander leaves and slices of chilli.
Spicy
Serves 4 as part of a Thai meal
Preparation and cooking time: 4 hours