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Massaman is a delicious curry made using a spice paste with the typical Thai-style flavours we love, with the addition of beautiful Indian spice notes of cinnamon, cardamom and cumin. It’s a mild and family-friendly curry, which is also quite saucy in texture, so it’s great for serving with plenty of rice to mop up the delicious coconutty curry flavours. I remember being sceptical about this Slow-cooked Massaman Beef Curry recipe because it requires so few ingredients, but what I ended up with was perfectly tender, melt-in-your-mouth beef in a rich, fragrant, coconutty curry sauce with very little effort.

Massaman Beef Slow Cooker Recipe
Cooked low and slow, this delicious, mild, family-friendly Thai curry with Indian spice notes transforms beef and vegetables to melt-in-the-mouth tender.

The slow-cooker does all the hard work and you get to enjoy the comfort and satisfaction of a one-pan, home-cooked dinner at the of a long day. While I love making curry pastes from scratch, I also love good-quality store-bought ones, which are economical (avoiding that pile of half-used speciality ingredients in the fridge leftover from making your own paste) and a great way to quickly pack in a whole load of flavour. The curry paste you choose for this recipe makes all the difference, as the dish relies on so few ingredients to carry the flavour. I always use Maesri brand Masaman Curry Paste and, luckily, it is available worldwide at the supermarket or from Asian grocery stores. Although this is meant to be a mild and soupy curry, if you are someone who prefers a stronger flavour or thicker texture, I’ve provided some tips below.

Do you have any tips to ensure the best flavour?

This is a mild, family-friendly curry and it has a fairly soupy consistency. I recommend using Maesri brand Masaman Curry Paste, which is available worldwide at the supermarket or from Asian grocery stores. To further amp up the flavour, you can add 1 tablespoon each of fish sauce (or soy sauce or tamari) and lime juice to the recipe at the same time as the curry paste. Also, for even better flavour, make the curry the day before as the flavours will develop overnight.

Tips for a thicker sauce

If you would like a thicker sauce, you can choose to reduce the amount of chicken stock in the recipe to half, or omit it completely. The liquid from the coconut milk will be enough to cook the beef and potatoes perfectly and the end result will be a slightly thicker sauce.

What are some other curry recipes?

If you love a South-East Asian–style curry, I’m sure you’ll enjoy the following:

Malaysian Chicken Curry
Chicken Thai Red Curry
Chicken Green Curry
Eggplant and Tofu Red Curry
Salmon Green Curry

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Massaman Beef Slow Cooker Recipe

Slow-cooked Massaman Beef Curry

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4.6 from 10 reviews

You only need a few low-cost ingredients to make this family-friendly, mild and melt-in-the-mouth Slow-cooked Massaman Beef Curry. There’s hardly any prep and the slow-cooker does all the hard work.

  • Total Time: up to 8 hours 15 mins
  • Yield: 4

Ingredients

  •     2 tbsp olive oil
  •     1 kg (2 lb) beef suitable for slow-cooking (no need to cut; I use braising/casserole beef but chuck steak works well too, see note 1)
  •     1 x 114 g cans Maesri Curry Paste (see note 2)
  •     400 ml coconut milk
  •     1 cup (250 ml) chicken stock (or 1 cup/250 ml water plus 1 chicken stock/bouillon cube, see note 3)
  •     8 small potatoes (any variety), cut into 2 cm (¾ inch) chunks (no need to peel)
  •     2 onions, sliced into thick wedges

To serve

  •     Coriander (cilantro) 
  •     1 large red chilli, sliced 
  •     Crushed peanuts (optional)

Instructions

  1.   Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the beef to the pan and cook for 3–4 minutes per side until browned and caramelised. This step is important as it really adds and locks in flavour.
  2.   In a small bowl, combine the massaman curry paste, coconut milk and chicken stock to form a sauce.
  3.   In your slow-cooker, layer the beef, potatoes and onion in that order.
  4.   Pour the sauce all over the top. Don’t worry if some of the potatoes and onions are not submerged. They will melt into the sauce during the cooking process.
  5.   Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours. If the beef is still firm at the end of the cooking time, continue cooking on high in 30-minute intervals. The beef should fall apart easily using a fork. Use tongs to gently pull it apart into smaller, bite-sized pieces to serve.
  6.   Serve topped with coriander, sliced red chilli and crushed peanuts, if using.

Equipment

Notes

Note 1  – You can first cut the beef into bite-sized pieces if preferred. Leaving it whole decreases the amount of time required to prepare this dish. The beef pulls apart quite easily when it’s cooked.

Note 2 – I use Maesri brand Masaman Curry Paste, which is available worldwide at the supermarket or from Asian grocery stores. As there are so few ingredients in this curry, it’s important that you are using the best possible paste. The result will be different if you use another paste.

Note 3 – If you want a thicker sauce, leave the chicken stock out completely. The sauce using the chicken stock is a thin, soup-like consistency.  

Make ahead

Refrigerate the cooked curry for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave. 

Leftovers

Refrigerate the cooked curry for up to 3 days. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely overnight in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave. 

  • Author: Nicole
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: up to 8 hours
  • Category: beef, curry, Massaman Beef Slow Cooker
  • Method: pan, slow cook
  • Cuisine: Thai

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