Beef mussaman curry (gaeng mussaman neua)

 
 

Mussaman curries originate in the predominantly Muslim regions of Southern Thailand. As such they make liberal use of dried spices. Beef is the most popular choice of meat in their curry, but duck and chicken can be substituted if desired. However for me the combination of beef, coconut and the various spices works best.Tofu can be used for a vegetarian option.

This curry will be wonderfully rich, aromatic and full of warm spices!

The recipe is sufficient for 2 people and cooking time is approximately 2 hours (not including making the curry paste)

 

Ingredients:

250 ml coconut cream

300 g beef sirloin, cubed

500 ml coconut milk

3 tablespoons of mussaman paste (see below)

2 cardamom seeds, roasted

1 tablespoon roasted peanuts (not salted)

3 smallish potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 sweet white onion, peeled and quartered

2 bay leaves, torn

a little salt

1 tablespoon grated palm sugar

2 tablespoons of fish sauce

2 shallots, thinly sliced and deep fried until crisp

 

for the mussaman paste:

            ½ teaspoon coriander seeds, roasted and ground

            2 teaspoon cloves, roasted and ground

            2 teaspoon cinnamon, roasted and ground

2 teaspoon fennel seeds, roasted and ground

½ teaspoon peppercorns, roasted and ground

2 teaspoon cardamom seeds, roasted and ground

36 dried red chillies, de-seeded, soaked and drained

5 coriander roots

4 tablespoons, finely chopped lemon grass

2 tablespoons finely chopped galangal

5 tablespoons chopped garlic

7 tablespoons of chopped shallots

4 bay leaves

125 ml vegetable oil

 

Place all the dry spices in a wok and roast gently until toasted and fragrant. Allow to cool and then grind into a fine powder. Take your wok and heat up a little oil and roast the chillies, coriander roots, lemon grass, galangal, garlic and shallots until soft and aromatic. Using a blender, puree the roasted herbs and work in the vegetable oil, the powdered spices and the bay leaves until a beautifully smooth paste is achieved. The smell will be amazing!

This will make approximately 450 g of curry paste. However it freezes really well, so freeze in ice cube containers for future use.

 Now to the curry itself!

Bring the coconut cream to the boil in a wok. Immediately add the sirloin beef, reduce to a low simmer and allow to cook for an hour or until the beef is very tender.

Now in another pan, stir fry the curry paste (3 tablespoons) and the coconut milk over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add this mixture to the coconut cream and beef and simmer gently for a further 30 minutes.

Whilst the curry is simmering, dry roast the cardamom seeds and the peanuts and set aside. Add the potatoes, onion, and bay leaves to the curry, with the cardamom seeds and peanuts. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

Finely slice the shallots and quickly deep fry them in hot vegetable oil until golden brown and crispy. Drain well and set aside.

Finally add the fish sauce and sugar, stir, taste and season further with a little salt if required.

Serve the curry in a serving dish, garnished with the deep fried shallots and a sprig of coriander alongside some fragrant thai steamed rice.

This is a marvelously rich curry, not as spicy as red or green, yet wonderfully aromatic with deep warm spice flavours. Delicious!

Comments

[The Grubworm]

This looks fabulous - properly spicy and rich. I agree that beef would work best as it tastes the strongest. I would imagine pheasant would be good too.

Is coriander stalk a good substitute for root? It can be hard to find the herb with anything more than a stub of a root attached to the bottom.

[Paul]

Thanks grubworm (great name btw) - yes you could use the stalks, slightly different taste but not a show stopper!

[Lance]

Looks like alot of work.. but I'm willing to give it a crack Paul.

My wife is crazy about mussaman. So I need to impress her.

I'll let you know how I go!

Lance