Massaman curry has somehow become my go-to comfort food. When I’m cold, stressed, tired, or just annoyed, this particular curry—with its combination of soft and crunchy textures, its creamy sauce and slightly spicy bite—are like a warm, yummy hug.
For years I went to the same Thai restaurant and ordered the same thing (Bangkok chicken, “baby mild”, no baby corn…it’s the BOMB), but then one day I decided that I needed to branch out, and this was the least spicy of the curries. Plus, it didn’t have green peppers, which are truly disgusting, so that was a deciding factor. One taste of this, with the silky avocado and the crunch of the onion, and I was in love.
I’m not sure what’s taken me so long to try making this myself. Maybe it’s because I tend to find that ethnic dishes are just better at restaurants, so it’s worth shelling out for them on occasion. Plus I’m lazy, and I tend to take one look at the long list of ingredients and get overwhelmed (not to mention my grocery store doesn’t just have this particular curry paste sitting around).
But you shouldn’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients. Most of them are ones you already have around, and the others are easy enough to pick up once and have around for a long time (I ordered the curry paste on Amazon, because I’m also too lazy to drive around to a bunch of Asian markets looking for it). Prepping the ingredients will take 15-20 minutes with one set of hands, but is quite easy, and then the dish comes together very smoothly. It makes amazing leftovers, and can feed a serious crowd. [Read more…]
finding time for cooking 