Duck massaman curry
Making your own curry paste takes this easy curry to new heights. Store any leftover paste in a sealed container in the freezer.
Ingredients
For the curry paste
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 30g/1oz toasted peanuts. roughly chopped
- 1 banana shallot, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 1 thumb-sized piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 lemongrass sticks, finely chopped
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- pinch mace
- pinch nutmeg
- pinch ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp palm sugar
- 1–2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 cloves
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the curry
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cardamom pods
- 1 star anise
- 1 large potato, peeled and cut into rough chunks
- 1 tbsp palm sugar
- 2–3 tbsp curry paste, from above
- 500ml/18fl oz coconut milk
- 2 duck breasts, cut into cubes
To serve
Method
To make the curry paste, put all the ingredients into a food processor and blend to a paste. Set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large, deep pan. Sauté the onion and spices until softened. Add the potatoes, palm sugar and curry paste and stir well.
Pour in the coconut milk and simmer for 15–20 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost soft.
Add the duck and simmer for 5–6 minutes. (Don’ let it boil.)
Garnish with the fresh coriander and peanuts and serve with rice.
