Serves 2
45 min
Prik Gaeng Massaman (Thai Massaman Curry Paste)
Recipe GLPR8a1cea4cb1be76
A traditional Thai spice paste made by toasting and grinding a complex blend of warm spices including cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, combined with dried chilies, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, and fragrant coriander roots. This aromatic base is bound together with shrimp paste and salt to create the foundation for rich, deeply flavored massaman curries. The paste is made from whole spices that are freshly toasted and ground, developing intense flavors perfect for slow-cooked curry dishes.
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Ingredients
5 Thai or Chinese white cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1 piece whole nutmeg, broken into pieces
10 whole cloves
6 blades mace
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 teaspoon white peppercorns
10 dried spur chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 stalks lemongrass, bottom 4 to 5 inches, outer leaves discarded, tender core thinly sliced
4 small shallots, thinly sliced
7 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 coriander roots, cleaned and thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons Thai shrimp paste
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
Directions
Open the cardamom pods and remove the seeds, discarding the husks. In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast the cardamom seeds, cinnamon pieces, nutmeg, cloves, mace, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and white peppercorns together for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Toast until fragrant and slightly darkened, but do not let the spices burn. Transfer to a plate to cool.
Once cooled, grind the toasted spice mixture in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle until you have a fine powder. Set aside.
In the same dry skillet over medium heat, warm the dried chilies briefly for about 1 minute until fragrant. Be careful not to scorch them. Transfer to a clean bowl and let cool slightly. Once cool enough to handle, remove any remaining stems and shake out the seeds if not already removed. Chop the chilies into small pieces.
Using a mortar and pestle or food processor, combine the ground spice powder, chopped dried chilies, sliced lemongrass, sliced shallots, sliced garlic, and sliced coriander roots. Pound or process until the ingredients are broken down into small pieces and begin to release their oils.
Add the shrimp paste and salt to the mixture. Continue pounding or processing until all ingredients are fully combined into a cohesive, fragrant paste. The texture should be relatively fine, though some slight graininess from the spices is expected. This may take 5 to 10 minutes depending on your method.
Transfer the finished paste to an airtight container. The curry paste is now ready to use in your favorite massaman curry recipes, or it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
