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Thai Massaman curry

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Emphatically the king of curries - This Thai Massaman curry is a warm, comforting curry that is perfect for any night of the week. You don’t need a lot of time or ingredients to make this a delicious treat the whole family will love. Add additional veggies and make this a complete, wholesome convenience meal you’ll  be making over and over again.

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Thai Massaman curry

What is Thai massaman curry?

Thai massaman curry is a delightful blend of sweet and spicy in a creamy, rich sauce with just a hint of lime. It is the perfect comfort food for a cold winter evening but it is loaded with healthy veggies.

This is also a great weeknight dinner. It comes together in less than 15 minutes including prep time! You can serve it with your favorite rice, like jasmine rice or Thai basil rice for a complete and filling meal.

We keep our version vegan and include extra firm tofu for the protein so your belly will be full and you can feel good about eating this.

Thai Massaman Video Recipe

The perfect weeknight dinner

One of the reasons we love this recipe is that it cooks up in less than 15 minutes! It’s hard to find a faster, home cooked meal for busy weeknights. And if you really want to make it convenient, you can use some precut or even frozen ingredients to make prep work even easier.

Thai Massaman curry

What will I need to make it?

For this curry, you’ll need to get a few different ingredients. You should be able to find most of these at your local grocery store. Here’s what you’ll need to get:

  • Oil - olive oil, canola oil, or coconut oil work well
  • Ginger & Garlic
  • Thai Massaman Curry paste - we use Maesri brand for our recipe, it has a great flavor and its vegan
  • Extra firm tofu cubes
  • Carrot  
  • Medium red onion - you only need a half onion, but do not remove the roots so that the petals stay together
  • Potato - peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
  • Green beans
  • Fresh Baby corn or canned 
  • Canned straw mushrooms
  • Coconut milk (1 can)
  • Water
  • Juice of half lime

How to make Vegan Massaman Curry in the Instant Pot

Here’s how to make this convenient meal in your Instant Pot. 

Thai Massaman curry step by step instructions

First, press the sauté button with the inner pot inside the Instant Pot. When it says HOT, add in the oil, ginger, garlic, onion, chopped potato, and massaman curry paste. Once it is all added, give it a quick stir and sauté it for 1 minute.

Next, add in all the veggies (except for the mushrooms), coconut milk, water, and salt to taste. Also, do not add the tofu yet! It will get overcooked if you add it now!

Once the ingredients are added, place the lid and pressure cook on high for 2 minutes. When the pressure cooker beeps, let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, do a quick release to get rid of the remaining pressure.

Thai Massaman curry step by step instructions

Finally, add the tofu, straw mushrooms, some chopped cilantro, and lime juice. 

Gently mix it all together before serving with your favorite rice or Thai inspired food, like our Thai Peanut Curry and Rice or these Spicy Thai Noodles.

Making Massaman Curry on the stove top

It takes a bit longer on the stove top, but it is possible to make this savory meal on the stove top with  minimal effort. Here’s what you’ll need to do.

  • Before starting the curry on the stove top, we recommend boiling the potato pieces in a pot of water. This will ensure you get fully cooked potatoes with the curry. If you prefer a faster stove top meal, you can skip the potatoes.
  • First, heat the oil over medium heat. Once it is hot, add in the ginger, garlic, onion, chopped potato, and massaman curry paste. Stir and sauté for about 1 to 3 minutes or until the slurry becomes fragrant.
  • Next, add in all the veggies (except the mushrooms), coconut milk, and salt. When they are added, stir and sauté for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the beans are starting to get soft. As the final step, add the tofu, lime juice, cilantro, and mushrooms and turn off the heat.
  • Finally, stir the ingredients together and allow the curry to heat the tofu and mushrooms through. Serve over jasmine rice and enjoy!

Thai Massaman curry

Pro tips and tricks

Are you ready to make our Massaman curry? Here’s what you’ll need to know to make the best curry possible.

  • Keep the mushrooms and tofu out until after you pressure cook the rest of the veggies! They will get mushy and have a bad texture if you pressure cook them.
  • Cut your veggies into roughly bite sized pieces and make sure the pieces are equal. 
  • Serve over jasmine rice or basmati rice or rice noodles for a filling meal.

Thai Massaman curry

What to serve with Massaman curry

For a traditional meal, you would serve Massaman curry with jasmine rice. Jasmine rice is a popular, long grain rice. You can follow our recipe to make it here.

If you don’t have Jasmine rice on hand, you could use another rice if you prefer. Basmati rice could also work You can find directions on making it here

For a lower carb version, you could also serve it with cauliflower rice. Wide rice noodles also pair well with this. You should be able to find either of them at your local store.

Thai Massaman curry

What type of Massaman curry paste should you use?

We use Maesri for our recipe. We find it has the best overall flavor and spice blend. You can use other blends, but we found this one is one of the best you can get.

What type of veggies can I add?

Traditionally, you would serve this with potatoes and onions. But you can add a lot off different vegetables if you like.

Some of our favorite add-ins are broccoli, zucchini, squash, baby eggplants and snow peas. If you like, you could also add in about a cup of frozen veggies. Just look for a blend of veggies that you love!

Thai Massaman curry

How to Store

If you want to either make this ahead (not that you need to, it is so quick!) or store leftovers, you definitely can. To store, place the cooled curry in an airtight container and place in the fridge for about 3 to 5 days. 

How to Reheat

To reheat, place the container in the microwave for a few minutes or until warmed through. Alternatively, you could reheat in a small pot over medium-low heat until warmed through. 

If possible, avoid storing with rice. The rice will absorb the sauce and does not reheat as well. We recommend making the rice fresh when you are ready to serve the curry.

You can freeze the curry, if you want to. Place a cool curry in freezer safe containers and freeze for up to six months. To reheat, allow it thaw in the fridge overnight and then reheat in the microwave for a few minutes.

Thai Massaman curry

Into Thai Inspired recipes or curries? Be sure to check out our

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Thai Massaman curry/ massaman curry

Thai Massaman Curry

Yield: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Additional Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 9 minutes

Emphatically the king of curries - This Thai Massaman curry is a warm, comforting curry that is perfect for any night of the week. You don’t need a lot of time or ingredients to make this a delicious treat the whole family will love. Add additional veggies and make this a complete, wholesome convenience meal you’ll  be making over and over again.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp. oil
  • ½ inch ginger / minced
  • 3 cloves garlic / minced
  • 1 can (4oz) Thai massaman Curry paste /Maesri brand
  • 1 cup extra firm tofu/ cubes
  • 1/2 medium red onion (Do not remove the root.
  • 1 small potato, peeled, cut into 2-inch chunks
  • 1 cup Green beans cut in 1- 1/2-inch pieces
  • 5 Fresh Baby corn or canned / chopped in 1 inch
  • 1 cup carrot chunks / Diagonally
  • 1 cup canned straw mushrooms
  • 14 oz. coconut milk (1 can)
  • 1 cup water
  • juice of half lime
  • For serving
  • Jasmine rice
  • Handful of green onions
  • Crushed Peanuts
  • Fresh Lime
  • Cilantro

Instructions

    Press the sauté button and when HOT add in the oil,
    ginger, garlic, onion, chopped potato and massaman curry paste. give it a quick stir and sauté it for 1 minute.     
    Add in all the veggies except the tofu and mushroom,
    coconut milk, water, and salt to taste.   
    Place the lid and pressure cook high for 2 minutes.  
    When the pressure cooker beeps. Let the pressure
    naturally release for 5 mins and then do a quick release.     
    Add the tofu, straw mushroom and some chopped cilantro,
    lime juice and gently mix it.  
    Serve it hot with jasmine rice



Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 558Total Fat 33gSaturated Fat 22gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 22mgSodium 511mgCarbohydrates 54gFiber 7gSugar 14gProtein 20g

All information and tools presented and written within this site are intended for informational purposes only. We are not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information on TheBellyRulesTheMind.net should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate. Even though we try to provide accurate nutritional information to the best of our ability, these figures should still be considered estimates.

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Did you make recipe? don’t forget to come back and leave your feedback and star rating.

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Sean

Tuesday 1st of November 2022

Turned out amazing I switched some of the veggies because we aren't fans of mushrooms but wow I will be making it again.

Soniya Saluja

Wednesday 2nd of November 2022

Hi Sean, so glad to hear that you enjoyed it.. hope you try other recipes from our blog :)

June

Sunday 31st of January 2021

Hi I am going to make your wonderful thai massaman curry today. I noticed your recipe says 1 can of coconut milk 4 ounces; however, the can has 14 ounces...do I just use 4 ounces of it?? Also, do you press your tofu before using...this is my first ever curry I am making for my son's birthday. Thank you, June

Soniya Saluja

Sunday 31st of January 2021

Hi June, thanks for getting that to our notice.. it was a typo mistake. It's 1 can 14oz. Hope you make and share your feedback with us.

Jodi

Wednesday 30th of December 2020

Am I able to use curry powder in this?

Soniya Saluja

Wednesday 30th of December 2020

Hi Jodi, you need to use massaman curry paste for the flavor. Curry powder won't give the depth of flavors tou need for this recipe. Hope this helps.

Rashida

Monday 7th of December 2020

Thanks for sharing i love the way u express n show how to make it so we can be as successful as u

Jackie

Friday 4th of December 2020

I love how simple and comforting this curry is. I can’t wait to give it a try soon.

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