Curry bases & pastes· GF · DF

Massaman Paste

A warm, mild paste made the traditional way, with dry-roasted shallots and garlic, soaked dried chillies and toasted whole spices.

makes 7 cubes, about 34p each

Jump to recipe

BatchJoy

batchjoy.com/sauces/massaman-paste/

Illustration of a bowl of Massaman Paste

Time: 40 min20 min prep · 20 min cook
Makes: 7 cubes
Cost per cubePer cube: 34p
Calories per cubeCalories: 52 kcal
A serving: 2 cubes
Spice: 2 of 5

You’ll need

Batch size

cubes

8 (8g)large mild dried red chillies, soaked
6 (90g)shallots, unpeeled
10 cloves (50g)garlic, unpeeled
3 stems (45g)lemongrass, sliced
25ggalangal, sliced
12gcoriander, cumin, cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon stick, nutmeg
2gwhite peppercorns
10gshrimp paste
3gsalt
15mlrapeseed oil

Allergens: Crustaceans. Check the labels on stock cubes, sauces and pastes, as brands vary.

Use it for

Beef or chicken massaman: 2 cubes, coconut milk, potatoes and peanuts · 2 cubes; Massaman squash and chickpea curry · 3 cubes; Rub for roast chicken · 1 cube

Method

Step 1: Dry-roast the unpeeled shallots and garlic in a heavy pan over a medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, turning, until charred and soft. Cool and peel.
Step 2: Toast the lemongrass and galangal in the same pan for 3 minutes, then the whole spices for 2 minutes until fragrant. Grind the spices finely.
Step 3: Blitz the drained chillies, lemongrass, galangal and salt, then add the roasted shallots and garlic, ground spices and shrimp paste and blitz to a smooth paste.
Step 4: Fry the paste in the oil over a low heat for 5 minutes. Cool completely.
Step 5: Spoon into 30ml trays and freeze.

Nutrition (estimated)
	kcal	protein	carbs	fat	fibre	salt
Per cube	52	1.4g	7g	2.3g	1.2g	0.86g
Per 2 cubes	104	2.8g	14g	4.6g	2.4g	1.72g

Cook’s notes

Fry straight from frozen in a little oil until fragrant.
Peanuts, tamarind and palm sugar go into the curry itself, not the paste.
Two cubes per 400ml tin of coconut milk is about right.

Use it for

Beef or chicken massaman: 2 cubes, coconut milk, potatoes and peanuts · 2 cubes
Massaman squash and chickpea curry · 3 cubes
Rub for roast chicken · 1 cube

Freeze, reheat and serve

Freeze: Cool it within two hours, freeze it in 30ml ice-cube trays, then bag and label the cubes. It keeps for 6 months.
Use from frozen: Fry straight from frozen in a little oil until fragrant. Never refreeze thawed cubes.
A portion: 2 cubes is a serving: about 104 kcal.

Massaman Paste questions

Can I make it without shrimp paste?

Leave it out and season the finished curry with a little extra salt. The paste will taste less savoury but still warm and fragrant.

What can I use instead of galangal?

Fresh ginger is the usual swap, though it's sharper and less citrusy. Frozen galangal from Asian grocers is closer to fresh.

Why dry-roast the shallots and garlic?

Roasting them in their skins makes them soft, sweet and slightly smoky. That gives massaman its rounded, mellow flavour, which raw shallots and garlic can't.