when will you make me pork massaman curry?

so my mom and her husband comes to visit me and my brother about twice a year, every year. the first time, it's always around my birthday at the beginning of the year, the second, around my brother's birthday towards the end of the year. her husband is definitely a man of routine and old fashioned traditions. he is responsible for my mom learning to cook in recent years.. (it's NEVER too late to learn anything, guys! my mom is my living proof of that!) he is the ultimate foodie (he knows ALL the amazing hole in the wall spots in thailand)! and ever since the first day they landed at LAX, he's been asking me "when will you make me pork massaman curry?"  he'll casually drop it into conversations.. and though it might seem daunting to hear it again and again, most of the time, i'm asking myself "can he seriously think it's that good?"  bc he's from Thailand. i mean that's where they have the best stuff.. authentic, magnificent THAI FOOD. street food. the OG stuff. but yet he still insists.. and i am not ignoring him.. i just never made time for cooking as of late. i'm too busy trying to enjoy my long summer days in the sunlight before autumn robs me of it. haha. but i did make it and let me just tell you, MASSAMAN is worth it. it is easily my favorite thai curry (bc as much as I loooove Thai curry, I'm very particular with Indian curry and I'm not fond of Japanese curry at all..)

let's talk about cooking and recipes for a brief moment. everyone learns differently but here's my take on how i learn in terms of cooking. I've learned to cook out of necessity and want to NOT eat out everyday and to know what goes into my food. luckily i have a huge family and huge handful of friends that needs their tummy filled too. and as the years go by, it becomes much easier and the experimentation becomes more wild. but initially, i almost always follow a recipe to a T. (side note: with baking it's definitely an EXACT science and it's almost always to the T) that way i get an idea of the process and technique and what the author intended for it to taste like (especially when it's a total mystery trial dish). then i adjust according to my very nuanced palate. the next time, i will use the foundational technique and make it my own. i think technique is very important in how a dish turns out. it's amazing when you flick your wrist a certain way or wait til the coconut cracks and separates and just THAT makes all the difference in the world.  you pick up secrets from one recipe and apply it to others and the possibilities become endless. with chefs being innovative with fusion style cooking, many variety of ingredients are becoming more available and accessible, we are absolutely lucky to be in the middle of this food revolution. i can bet my bottom dollars that i can buy fresh galangal and fresh whole free range chicken (and other asian veggies/fish/fruits/plants due to my very asian community) every saturday at my local farmer's market. it's never been easier to cook up a very fresh home cooked close to authentic asian meal in your very own kitchen to tell you the truth. and here's the kicker, it might even be BETTER due to the quality of the produce and meats we have here in the states. 

Massaman Curry 

adapted from David Thompson's Thai Food

3 chicken legs (here, i used pork butt)

4 medium-sized potatoes

oil for deep frying

8 small shallots, peeled

4-5 cups coconut milk

5 thai cardamom pods, roasted (i used the green pods, not thai but that's what i found)

1/2 cup peanuts, roasted

4 bay leaves, roasted

3 cups coconut cream

2 tablespoons-1 cup palm sugar

3-5 tablespoons tamarind water

1 cup pineapple juice

1 can massamun curry paste (*if you want to make your own, message me for the recipe)

Cut each chicken leg into four pieces (or pork into 2" squares); wash and dry. Peel and quarter potatoes, then steep in cold water to leach out any excess starch.

Deep fry chicken pieces until golden. Remove and drain off excess oil.  Repeat with potatoes and onions. (Deep frying seals and firms the chicken and vegetable, enriching the curry) 

Put chicken in another pan, add sufficient coconut milk to just cover and bring to a boil. Add cardamom pods, peanuts and bay leaves.  When chicken is almost cooked, about 10 minutes, add potatoes and onions.

In a medium pot, crack the coconut cream and then add the curry paste. Turn down heat and simmer, stirring regularly to prevent burning, for at least 10 minutes -- cook until you can smell the dried spices. If paste burns, change the pan.. start over. If the paste is not oily enough, moisten with some of the chicken braising liquid. When the paste is oily, hot and sizzling, season with palm sugar and, when that has dissolved, continue to simmer as the sugar begins to caramelize, deepening the color and flavour of the curry. The amount of sugar require is determined by taste since each palm sugar batch varies. 

Add fish sauce and tamarind water. The amount of these should be increased or decreased according to the amount of sugar being used. As with all Thai dishes, the flavors must be balanced. 

Add the cooked paste to the pot containing the chicken/pork, potatoes, onions, stirring it in well.  Stir in pineapple juice.  Check the seasoning: it should taste sweet, sour and salty, in that order. 

Serve with Jasmine rice and soft boiled eggs. (my personal favorite is the 6 minute egg!)

Try it friends!  Enjoy!

xoxo