Beef Matsaman Curry Recipe

Ingredients:

• 500gr Beef, cut into 2 inches cubes
• 6 cups Coconut milk
• 1 cup Coconut cream
• 2 1/2 TBS Palm sugar
• 5 TBS Tamarind sauce
• 5 TBS Fish sauce
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/2 cup Roasted peanuts
• 2 Big Onions cut into quarters
• 4 Thai black Cardamon pods
• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil

For the Curry Paste you will need:

• 1 1/2 tsp Coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 4 Cloves
• 4 Peeled Thai black Cardamon pods.
• 1 inch Cinnamon bark
• 1 Dried Mace (ดอกจันทร์)
• 1 Inner part of Nutmeg nut (ลูกจันทร์)
• 9 Long dry Chilies
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp White pepper corns
• 1 TBS Galangal
• 2 Lemongrass
• peel of 1/2 kaffir lime
• 12 big or 30 small Thai garlic cloves
• 5 Small Thai Shallots
• 1 tsp Shrimp paste (kapi)

Steps

1. work well freshly grated coconut with approximately the same amount of lukewarm water
2. strain and keep aside. the first squeeze is mostly consists of coconut cream, the cream separates and floats on top of the thinner liquid. one good coconut yields about a cup of coconut cream
3. repeat the process to extract the coconut milk.
4. cut the beef into small egg size chunks
5. arrange the beef in a cooking pot and fill with coconut milk to cover
6. bring to a boil
7. skim off the scum
8. cover and cook for couple of hours, or until the beef is very tender and soft
9. check often and add liquids as necessary
10. set aside
11. in a small saucepan dissolve tamarind pulps with boiling water, strain and set aside
12. in a small saucepan soak dry red chilies in boiling water until soft, strain and set aside
13. slightly roast coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cinnamon bark, whole nutmeg nut, mace, cardamon and cloves.
14. roast until very fragrant. be careful not to burn the spices.
15. finely ground the spices in a mortar and pestle. set aside
16. finely chop (in this order) lemongrass, galanga, garlic shallots and kaffir lime peel. set aside
17. start making the curry paste by pounding the red chilies with a bit of salt as an abrasive
18. gradually add the chopped ingredients, starting with the hardest ingredient to the softer
19. the paste should be as fine as possible, eliminating all the textures of the raw ingredients preserving only their flavors
20. add white pepper corns and shrimp paste
21. add the finely ground spices and mix well. the end product should have a combined, full and rounded aroma
22. in a small saucepan fry the curry paste with 1/2 cup of oil
23. gradually add the coconut cream and cook until the coconut cracks
24. pour the curry paste and coconut cream over the cooked meat
25. when boils, add potatoes and cook until soft
26. add onions and cook for extra 5 minutes
27. season with palm sugar, tamarind sauce, salt and fish sauce. taste and adjust flavors
28. finish with freshly roasted peanuts and unpeeled black Thai cardamon pods
29. cook for another last 3 minutes….