This fragrant and flavorful Thai Instant Pot Massaman Curry recipe has creamy coconut, tender beef, potatoes, and crunchy peanuts that combine to make this a highly satisfying dish that can be put together quickly for a delicious weeknight meal.

Introduction

Have I already mentioned how much I love Thai food? I especially love Thai coconut curries! One of my favorite Thai curries is Massaman (pronounced muss-uh-maan) curry, which is a mild curry and doesn’t taste as spicy as a red, green , panang or yellow curry.

Massaman curry is typically made with beef or chicken in Thai restaurants. The taste of Thai massaman curry reminds me so much of Indian coconut-based curries because the massaman curry paste has cumin, coriander, and some of the essential ingredients of the Indian spice garam masala: cardamom, cinnamon, cloves.

Thai massaman curry is said to have come to Thailand from Persia, which is also how many North Indian curries came to India. Massaman curry is also known as Muslim Curry because it originated in the Muslim communities of Thailand.

But Massaman Curry is Thai through and through, due to the addition of quintessential Thai ingredients in the massaman curry paste (galangal ginger, lime leaves, lemongrass).

When I posted my Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken recipe, I got a few messages/comments about fish sauce. Raw fish sauce, yes, can smell fishy. But when you put it in a dish, the fish taste and smell go away, and I believe it’s essential to Thai curries.

There is no substitute. If you want Thai dishes like the ones you get in your favorite Thai restaurant, you should use fish sauce. In a pinch – and I’m not saying it’ll be the same – you can use soy sauce.

My other Instant Pot Thai curry recipes are as delicious as this recipe, but they all have different flavors. And of course, you’ve got to serve this pressure cooker beef massaman curry with Instant Pot Jasmine Rice – oh my, it’s so satisfying and good!

Here are some other super easy Thai recipes you’re going to love!

– Instant Pot Thai Red Curry

– Instant Pot Thai Green Curry

– Instant Pot Thai Yellow Curry

– Instant Pot Thai Panang Curry

– Instant Pot Thai Peanut Noodles

– Instant Pot Thai Grilled Chicken (Gai Yang)

– Instant Pot Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha Gai)

– Instant Pot Jasmine Rice



[Read: Instant Pot Pot-in-Pot Cooking Method to learn how to cook rice and curry together!]

Tips and Substitutions Tamarind Paste This recipe requires tamarind paste, which is easy to make from slabs of tamarind pulp that you can find at East Asian or South Asian stores. This is my Instant Pot Tamarind Paste recipe (try and make it ahead of time). Tamarind paste adds tartness to dishes. If you use a purchased tamarind paste, the quantity required varies. If using Indian tamarind paste such as Tamicon, you should start out with a smaller quantity (about 1 teaspoon mixed with some hot water) and taste at the end before you add more. If using this Thai tamarind concentrate, you might need to use more than the beef massaman curry recipe suggests. The first time you make the dish, be on the safe side and add one tablespoon to start with, and adjust at the end. If you don’t want to use tamarind at all, you can substitute lime juice. Thai Curry Paste For the Thai massaman curry paste, there are two brands that I like: Maesri and Mae Ploy. I use Maesri because I use the whole can for the massaman curry recipe. No leftover curry paste to store in the fridge. If you use the Mae Ploy brand of massaman curry paste, you might need to go easy on the fish sauce because Mae Ploy is saltier than the Maesri brand and fish sauce is salty too. Fish Sauce I really like the quality of Red Boat fish sauce which you can find at Asian grocery stores or on amazon. But it is more expensive than other fish sauce brands. Tiparos is another brand of fish sauce I’ve used – it’s more affordably priced. There’s no substitute for fish sauce. It adds that depth of flavor, the umami, to dishes. I’ve had vegetarian readers recommend the Fysh brand of sauce. But I haven’t tried it. You may need to add a little extra. Soy sauce is also a substitute for fish sauce, but there is a flavor difference. Coconut Milk I use full-fat coconut milk. I find some coconut milk brands don’t do well during pressure cooking, including some brands that are widely available at grocery stores. My two favorite brands are Aroy-D and Chaokoh. Some readers recommend Trader Joe’s brand coconut milk. If you prefer a thicker gravy, you can omit the water. The brands of coconut milk I use are thick, so the water doesn’t make the curry too thin, for my tastes. Palm Sugar Palm sugar is more authentic to a Thai curry than brown sugar is. However, I frequently use brown sugar without sacrificing taste. Meats and Tofu I use beef stew meat or London broil and the cooking time I’ve provided is just right. If you use a different cut of beef, you may need to adjust the cooking time. You can easily substitute other meats or tofu for the beef, but you’ll have to adjust the cooking time – here are some approximate times. Note: the timing for meat is for bite-size pieces! Pork shoulder: 8 minutes Natural Pressure Release (NPR)

Chicken: 4 minutes NPR

Extra-firm tofu, cubed: 2 minutes, Quick Release (QR)

Potatoes I like to use Yukon Gold potatoes. The potatoes come out well done if using the 5-minute pressure cook time. If you would like them to be more firm, you can reduce the pressure cook time to 3 minutes. Spiciness Thai massaman curry is not a spicy dish, so people who don’t like spicy foods will probably be okay with using a whole can of Thai massaman curry paste. If you’re concerned about spice, reduce the quantity of the curry paste. Start with just 3 or 4 tablespoons of the massaman curry paste, and next time you can adjust the heat as needed. Doubling the Recipe You can double all the ingredients in the recipe and pressure cook for the same amount of time. Just make sure your ingredients don’t go past the 2/3-full mark. Splatter Screen When you’re sauteing ingredients in the Instant Pot, the bubbling mixture can splatter. I like to use a splatter screen to cover the inner pot during this saute process.



If you’re new to the Instant Pot and aren’t familiar with how to use it, you might find it helpful to first read one of the following guides and then come back here to learn how to make this recipe.

– Instant Pot DUO Beginner’s Manual

– Instant Pot ULTRA Beginner’s Manual

– Instant Pot DUO EVO PLUS Beginner’s Manual

– Instant Pot DUO NOVA Beginner’s Manual

Instant Pot Thai Massaman Curry Ingredients

Beef

Potatoes

Onions

Peanuts

Curry paste Coconut milk

Fish sauce

Tamarind paste

Brown sugar

How to Pressure Cook Thai Massaman Curry in the Instant Pot (Step by Step Instructions)

Turn on Saute Mode Saute spices and coconut milk Add beef and remaining coconut milk Pressure cook Quick-release pressure Add vegetables Pressure cook Quick-release pressure Stir to combine

Turn on Saute Mode

Instant Pot DUO: Select the Saute function.

Select the function. Instant Pot ULTRA: Select the Saute function and press Start.

Saute spices and coconut milk Stir together Thai massaman curry paste and 1/2 can of coconut milk.

Saute until mixture is bubbly, a minute or two. A splatter screen is very useful to prevent splatters and a mess on your countertops.

Add beef and remaining coconut milk Press Cancel to turn off Instant Pot.

to turn off Instant Pot. Stir in beef, remaining coconut milk, water, tamarind paste, fish sauce, and brown sugar.

Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 15 minutes

Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position

Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads ‘15′ (15 minutes).

Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 15 minutes

Close the lid.

Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 15 minutes (00:15).

mode and adjust the time to 15 minutes (00:15). Press Start.

Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)

Instant Pot display will change to On .

. Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.

The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.

How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the DUO

Move the steam release handle to Venting . Steam will come out of the steam release handle.

. Steam will come out of the steam release handle. When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.

Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.

How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the ULTRA

Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and steam begins to come out of the Steam Release Valve.

When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.

Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.

[Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]

Add vegetables

Stir in potatoes, onions, and roasted peanuts.

Instant Pot Duo Pressure Cook 5 minutes

Close the lid and make sure steam release handle is in ‘Sealing’ position

Press Manual (or Pressure Cook) and + or – until the display reads ‘5′ (5 minutes).

Instant Pot Ultra Pressure Cook 5 minutes

Close the lid.

Select Pressure Cook mode and adjust the time to 5 minutes (00:05).

mode and adjust the time to 5 minutes (00:05). Press Start.

Pressure Cooking Process (Duo and Ultra)

Instant Pot display will change to On .

. Once the Instant Pot is pressurized, the float valve will go up.

The display will count down to 0; it will then switch to Keep Warm mode and display ‘L0:00’ or ’00 00′ and begin to count up the number of minutes since pressure cooking completed.

How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the DUO

Move the steam release handle to Venting . Steam will come out of the steam release handle.

. Steam will come out of the steam release handle. When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.

Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.

How to Quick Release Pressure (QR) on the ULTRA

Press down on the Steam Release Button until it locks into place, and steam begins to come out of the Steam Release Valve.

When your Instant Pot is depressurized, the float valve will be in the down position.

Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.

[Find out more about the pressure release methods and how and when to use them. ]

Stir to combine

Stir up the curry and serve over Instant Pot Jasmine Rice.

I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use. If you loved this recipe, please give it a five ⭐ rating in the comment section below and please share it on social media using the social media share buttons at the top and bottom of this post. Thank you so much! BACK TO TOP

Recipes you Might Also Like!

Instant Pot Khow Suey – Burmese Noodles Instant Pot Khow Suey is the Burmese version of the popular Thai recipe called Khao Soi. This Instant Pot recipe is a one-pot easy version that has all the wonderful flavors of the original. Tender chicken and noodles cooked in creamy coconut curry broth make this a hearty and comforting meal. READ MORE

Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken This Instant Pot Thai Red Curry with Chicken is delightful (and addicting!) It makes a perfect meal when paired with Jasmine Rice, and comes together so quickly in the Instant Pot. Perfect for a busy weeknight meal. READ MORE