Slow Cooker Beef Massaman Curry

Tender, pull-apart beef in a rich, delicious curry sauce made with coconut milk. Hands off, low-effort comfort food at its best.

Course Main

Cuisine International

Total Time 8 20

Servings

Calories 737kcal

Heat the olive oil in a frypan (or use the sear function on your slow cooker if you have one), and brown both sides of the steak, then add it to the slow cooker (it will not be cooked through at this point).
1 tbsp olive oil, 1 kg beef chuck steak
Add the onions to the frypan and cook until they start to soften.
1 medium brown onion
Add massaman paste and continue to fry until it becomes fragrant (about 1 minute).
114 g massaman curry paste
Add peanut butter, coconut milk, and beef stock, and stir to combine.
2 teaspoons peanut butter, 400 ml coconut milk, ½ cup beef stock
Pour the coconut milk mixture over the beef in the slow cooker.
Nestle the star anise (see my notes) and potatoes into the sauce around the beef and put the lid on.
1 star anise, 400 g baby potatoes (whole)
Cook for 8 hours on low or until the beef is tender and cooked through.
To serve, discard the star anise, skim off any excess oil, remove the beef and shred (discarding any visible fat).
Optional step: for a thicker sauce, pour the sauce into a small saucepan and simmer on the stovetop.

114g is the size of a single tin of curry paste - it equates to a little less than ⅓ cup of paste.
Searing the meat is essential for depth of flavour in the final dish, please don't leave it out. You can do this in a pan on the stovetop, or you can do it in the slow cooker if yours has a searing function.
I use a mesh tea strainer (ball) to keep the star anise together. If you don't have one, just wrap it in a piece of cheesecloth and tie it with kitchen string before tossing it in. The small seeds (about the size of an apple seed) can escape from the star anise pod, and are very unpleasant to eat.

*Please note that the amount of calories per serve is provided as a guide only, as ingredients and cooking methods can vary greatly*