Masaman Curry is one of my favorite Thai dishes and a way that I judge Thai Restaurants when I visit. Masaman is a rich, slightly sweet curry from Southern Thailand. It’s frequently served with beef or chicken, but can also be made with tofu, seafood or pork. The term Masaman may actually be a derivation of the word muslim, which is the origin of this dish.
Last night I noticed a Masaman sauce available at our local grocery store and figured it would be a good night to try this out. Many of you know that Rachel has never tried Thai food and is somewhat leery of many asian dishes after her mission trips to South Korea! Scroll through and take a look at how I put this together and at the end we’ll see if Rachel likes it 
Ingredients
1-lb of boneless/skinless chicken
2 Yukon Gold potatoes
1 Lg sweet onion
1 Sweet red pepper
8-oz fresh, sliced mushrooms
1-Tbs Vegetable Oil
Masaman Curry Sauce
Crushed red pepper
Cooking
I began by slicing up the chicken breasts and cooking them over medium heat in a large saute pan with 1 Tbs of vegetable oil.
Next, as the chicken cooked, I peeled and diced the Yukon Gold potatoes. These went into a salted pot of boiling water to get tender while the chicken sizzled away.
Next up, the Sweet Onion and Sweet Red Pepper.
These got sliced and chopped coarsely.
About this time I got the rice started – I really like Jasmine rice for it’s stickiness and fragrant taste.
After cleaning, washing and slicing some fresh mushrooms, I added all of the veggies to the skillet with the nearly cooked chicken.
Now its time to add the Masaman sauce – yeah, I know it’s cheating, but since I have never made this I figured I could use a crutch! Next time, I promise, all fresh ingredients! I added the entire jar to the saute pan, turned the heat up to High and brought the entire mixture to a boil, then reduced the heat, covered the pan and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.
The final dish turned out quite tasty!
And Yes! Rachel tried it and LOVED it! 
I think we may have a Thai-convert in the making!!
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Sounds great — when I’ve made massaman curry at home lately, I have been using a couple of ingredients that I highly recommend.
First, a good massaman paste. I’m using Mai Ploi right now but just got some new stuff in the mail via Amazon.com that I am going to try once the Mai Ploi runs out.
Second, if you can find a good spice store (or an Indian or Thai grocery), get some whole star anise… I simmered a few in coconut milk and the curry paste before adding the potatoes, and it made the whole kitchen fragrant with the anise smell.
Third, if you are going to make this on your own (but still using curry paste as part of the base), be sure you use regular coconut milk… none of the “lite” or “low fat” stuff. The light versions just don’t have the creaminess.
And fourth, what about peanuts? I didn’t see any in your recipe, but the massaman curries I’ve had have always included peanuts. I just use a handful of dry-roasted peanuts and throw them in while the coconut milk and curry paste are mingling in the saute pan.
Lastly, I forget what it is called (and I’ll have to look it up for you) but I use a red pepper gel that comes in a tube which one of the grocery stores here sells. It’s sold in the fresh herb section in VG’s in Waterford nearby. It looks almost like a red pepper jelly with flakes of the hot stuff in it, but it is way more convenient than trying to add your own hot peppers into the mix. Plus, if you leave it out, everyone can add their own (or add none at all) to adjust the spiciness.
As for my other variations, I have made this with thin-sliced carrots, and with lemongrass too. And I’ve found if it doesn’t have the right balance of flavors, you can also adjust a bit with lime juice (or kaffir lime leaves if you can find any) if it needs more “tart”, or brown sugar if it needs more sweet.
I could go on forever on this topic.
Hope this serves as some more inspiration! All the best, Eric
Eric, great points!! I love carrot in in too. A place I eat in Spartanburg, SC uses sweet potato in their version – pretty tasty too! Yes, there are peanuts in the dish. I prefer cocktail peanuts over dry roasted – they seem to cook up nicely.
Keep your eyes peeled, I’m trying to get more active with this site and am planning some Chowbelly products soon