Tag: main course
Massaman Curry (Instant Pot)
Massaman Curry (Instant Pot)
Massaman curry is a southern Thai curry that uses spices other Thai curries typically don’t use such as cardamom, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, and cinnamon. This is from an Indian and Malay influence on this dish. In Malaysian, masam translates into “sour,” hence the use of tamarind. This curry is coconut milk based, usually containing beef, potato, onion, and peanuts.While there are a lot of ingredients to make this curry paste, it is much better than any store bought for a fraction of the price. The easiest way is to make the paste is in a blender or a food processor. Store the curry paste in the refrigerator for up to a week. Anything that won’t be used in that time frame should be frozen.When choosing the beef for the curry, you want to use something that is good for braising since this dish takes some time to cook. Chuck works the best, but you can use bottom round, short rib, or shank meat.You can still make this recipe if you don’t have an Instant Pot, but cooking the beef until tender will take longer. Sear the beef in a dutch oven, then place in a 300 degree preheated oven for 2 hours. After the beef is done cooking, remove from the dutch oven. Drain any remaining grease from the dutch oven. On medium heat, deglaze the dutch oven with 1 cup of the coconut milk, scraping up any brown bits. Add the curry paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on medium low heat for 1 hour.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Massaman Curry Paste
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp white peppercorns
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1 1/4 cup dried red chilies
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup shallots
- 1/3 cup lemongrass
- 1/4 cup galangal
- 1/4 cup cilantro roots
- 1/4 cup garlic cloves
- 2 tsp fermented shrimp paste
Massaman Curry
- 1 1/2 – 2 lbs beef chuck roast 1″ cubes
- 2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 3 cups coconut milk
- 6 tbsp massaman curry paste
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp palm sugar
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 2 medium potatoes 1″ cubes
- 1 small onion diced
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
- roasted peanuts crushed
Instructions
Massaman Curry Paste
- Assemble the curry paste ingredients. In a spice grinder, grind the coriander, cumin, and white peppercorns together. Add them together with the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt. Grind the dried red chilies in the spice grinder. Set them aside.
- In a food processor or blender, add all curry paste ingredients.
- Blend until a paste is formed. You might have to add up to a 1/4 cup of water if the paste is too dry. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the blender to make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated.
- Store in a container for up to a week in the refrigerator. Freeze anything else that won’t be used. You should yield enough paste to make 3 batches of my massaman curry recipe.
Massaman Curry
- Set your Instant Pot to the Sauté function on high. Add the cooking oil. Add in the cubed chunks of chuck.
- Brown the beef on all sides. Remove from the pot.
- Turn the heat to medium. Deglaze the pot with 1 cup of the coconut milk, scraping up any brown bits. Add 6 tbsp of the curry paste. Let cook or 2 minutes.
- Add in the rest of the coconut milk, palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind paste, and the cooked beef. Put the cover on the Instant Pot. Set the function to Pressure Cooker on high for 30 minutes.
- After the 30 minutes is up, release the pressure. Turn the function to Sauté on medium heat. Add in the potatoes, onions, and peanuts. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. If the sauce gets to thick, add in a little bit of water.
- Serve with steamed rice. Garnish with crushed peanuts and chopped cilantro.
Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac)
Shaking Beef (Bo Luc Lac)
Bo Luc Lac literally translates to shaking beef. They shaking refers to how you move the pan once the tomatoes are added. This recipe couldn’t be easier to prepare. You want to make sure that you choose a tender enough steak when preparing this. Ribeye, NY strip, or top sirloin all will work well. When adding the steak to a hot pan, make sure to not move it. You want the meat to sear on one side well before you stir it. I know it’s tempting to not touch. DON’T TOUCH IT! Once you add the tomatoes, let the beef shaking begin.
Servings: 1
Ingredients
- 8 oz Steak (ribeye, ny strip, top sirloin)
- 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 1/2 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Mix together the soy sauces, fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and garlic.
- Pick a tender steak of your liking. I used a ribeye. Ny strip, or top sirloin work well.
- Cut up the steak into 1” cubes. Let marinate for 10-15 minutes.
- In a hot skillet, add the beef. Do not stir. Let sear for 2 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes. Now you can stir. Cook for 3 more minutes.
- Enjoy this shit!
Pork Belly braised in Coconut Water
Pork Belly braised in Coconut Water
Yes, I have an obsession with pork belly. This is a great Vietnamese dish that is very simple to make. This dish is very similar to a Thai dish one of my old roommates used to make, but pork shoulder was used instead of pork belly. I must admit, I think drinking coconut water is pretty gross. But when used as a braising liquid for pork belly, it is something magical when commingling with pork fat. I also love how the hard boiled eggs absorb some of the braising liquid, giving it a nice dark color.
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 lb sliced pork belly 1″ pieces
- 4 hard boiled eggs
- 3 shallots sliced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4 dried chilies
- 2 cups coconut water
- 2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 5 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 1 bunch green onions chopped
Instructions
- In a large sauté pan over medium high heat, add the cooking oil. Sauté the shallots and garlic for 2 minutes.
- Add in the pieces of pork belly. Brown on both sides.
- Add in the coconut water, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, dried chilies, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the hard boiled eggs. Cover. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 90 minutes to 2 hours.
- The last 5 minutes of cooking, turn up the heat to medium high to help thicken the sauce. Add in the green onions.
- Before serving, remove the eggs and slice in half.
- Serve with steamed rice.
