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Close up shot of short rib massaman curry in a plate on a bed of rice topped with peanuts and chilli slices
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5 from 1 vote

Beef Short Rib Massaman Curry

This massaman curry is brimming with melt-in-the-mouth beef, topped up with soft potatoes, crunchy peanuts and creamy coconut milk
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 10 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Thai
Keyword: massaman curry
Servings: 8 people
Author: Julia Frey of Vikalinka

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 100g / 1/2 cup This is an affiliate link.massaman curry paste (see notes)
  • 1 onion sliced
  • 3 lbs beef short ribs trimmed of visible fat
  • 800ml or 2 x 14 oz cans This is an affiliate link.coconut milk
  • 250 ml / 1 cup water
  • 4-5 small potatoes peeled and quartered
  • 2 tsp This is an affiliate link.tamarind paste
  • 50g/1/3 cup peanuts roasted
  • 3 tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar

Instructions

  • Heat the oil in a large and deep pan that could go in the oven, add the sliced onion and fry for 5-7 minutes over low heat, then add the curry paste and a splash (1/2 cup) of coconut milk and stir fry for a couple of minutes until it starts to smell fragrant. Then add the rest of the coconut milk, water and stir to combine.
  • Add the beef short ribs to the pan, cover with a lid and place in the preheated to 160C/325F oven for 2 hours. See Notes
  • After 2 hours take it out of the oven and see if you can pull the bones easily from the meat. Remove the bones, add the potatoes, cover with a lid and put back in the oven for 30 minutes. ( If the bones couldn’t be pulled out, leave them)
  • After 30 minutes, take the pan out of the oven, add the tamarind paste, sugar and peanuts and put it back in the oven uncovered for 20-30 minutes longer.
  • At the end of the cooking time the meat should be very tender and fall apart if pulled with a fork. Remove the pieces from the liquid to a large bowl and pull apart with two forks, then add back to the pan and mix with the curry. Serve with rice.

Notes

  • One of the best and most authentic pastes you can use is by Mae Ploy. It is made in Thailand. 
  • I cooked my ribs for 3 hours. At that point, the meat started to fall from the bone- the holy grail of slow cooking! Check yours at 1.5 hours, with varying quality, cuts and sizes, it could be ready by then. If so, add the potatoes and proceed with the recipe. 

Nutrition

Calories: 562kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 118mg | Potassium: 1230mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1977IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 7mg