Vegetarian Massaman Curry

As a flavor contrast to the hearty Moo Hong, we prepared a Massaman curry the weekend before last. However, not with potatoes as usual, but with sweet potatoes, and we also omitted the use of meat in this curry. If you then replace the fish sauce with No Fish Sauce, you get a vegetarian and even vegan Massaman curry.

This “Gaeng Massaman Man Thet” ( แกงมัสมั่นมันเทศ ) is a nice alternative to Massaman curry with meat and harmonized wonderfully with the Moo Hong. We made it very easy for ourselves and used a ready-made Massaman curry paste. By the way, we completely omit palm sugar in this recipe, as the sweet potatoes already provide enough natural sweetness.

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Preparation

First peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Then peel the shallots and quarter them.

Now heat some oil in a large pan or wok and fry the Massaman curry paste in it until it smells fragrant. Then add the sweet potatoes, mix them with the paste and continue frying both together. Before the paste burns, deglaze everything with the coconut milk and bring to a brief boil.

Then reduce the heat slightly and add the fish sauce, palm sugar, cinnamon stick and both star anise to the curry and simmer for about fifteen minutes. Add a little water if necessary.

Finally, add the quartered shallots and peanuts and simmer the curry for another five minutes until the sweet potatoes are soft but not yet mushy.

Serve the finished Gaeng Massaman Man Thet immediately while hot as part of a Thai menu or as a main dish on its own. Jasmine rice goes well with it.