Beef Short Rib Massaman Curry

More widely known Thai curries tend to be lighter, vibrant with vegetable greens and fresh-chili red, and make use of chicken or seafood. Thai red curry with prawns and snow peas or vegetarian Thai green curry are classic examples. What’s your favourite? This post contains affiliate links. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a commission.

Massaman beef curry

Thai Massaman curry is a literal melting pot of cultures and cuisines. Originating in Persia and crossing the Indian Subcontinent to arrive in Thailand via the Malay Archipelago, meant picking up a lot of ingredients along the way. Typical curries from further to the West are brooding and potent with ground spices: cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, cardamom. While curries from the East, other Thai curry recipes especially, are alive with fresh herbs and chili: lemongrass, galangal, holy basil. Massaman brings all of these together in a unique and unlikely flavour combination that is both cosy and vibrant. Besides a rich herbs and spices foundation, the Massaman curry recipe is characterised by uniting the potatoes used in North Indian curries, and peanuts favoured in Thai and Chinese cooking. An uncommon pairing, and bathed in coconut milk, but it makes for a hearty and nutritious dish.

Beef short rib recipes

Due to its global adventures, Massaman curry can also be found made with lamb or chicken, perhaps even duck or goat, but almost never pork. Which stands to reason as Massaman is a loose translation of ‘Muslim’. And anyway, in my opinion, it is best suited to beef. I’ve used short rib. Short ribs come on-the-bone, so you get a high fat content and plenty of marrow. This makes a big impact on the curry! The fat and marrow will both melt into the gravy while slow cooking giving that gorgeously unctuous texture on the tongue. It’s this appeal, and the fact that they are a comparably economical cut, that make stubby short ribs the perfect meat for a filling meal that won’t bust your budget. Give them a try in gochujang shot ribs, a rich and spicy Korean recipe, or more traditionally British flavoured braised beef short ribs.

Serving suggestions

A mega Massaman curry is a standalone kind of dish, excepting rice, of course. However impressive it may be, this meat-heavy dish is not a vegetarian diner’s dream. But with roots spanning half the globe, there is a wealth of options for meat-free mains and simple sides to accompany it. Mix and match the following for an invitingly multi-cultural table. Vegetarian-friendly mains that double as meat-eater sides:

Coconut, lentil and butternut squash curry Cauliflower and potato curry Roasted butternut squash with lentils and feta Nepalese red lentil dal

Vegetarian sides:

Crispy air fryer tofu bites Carrot and cucumber slaw Coconut or mushroom herbed rice

And if you think you have room for more carbs, serve naan-style flatbreads or chapatti.

Storage and leftovers

Beef curry is a gut-buster at the best of times, throw in a bunch of potatoes and peanuts and you are likely to have leftovers. Massaman curry will quite contentedly keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days, all the while percolating to new intensities. It’s an equally good freezer. Keep for up to 6 months then defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating on the hob.