If you go to Thai Restaurants, you have to try this famous Thai curry that is popular in the world recently. That dish is called Massaman curry, a type of Thai curry which contains spices from Persia, the Indian subcontinents, and Malay Archipelago (such as cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cumin, bay leaves, nutmeg, and mace) combining Thai ingredients which are acceptable in this region such as chili peppers, coriander, lemongrass, galangal, white pepper, shrimp paste, shallots, tamarind, and garlic. The protein in this dish comes chicken in majority, but also goat, duck, beef, venison, mutton, goat are included. Vegetarians and vegans have created this recipe, which is omitting animal proteins and substituting with tofu and not using fish sauce and shrimp paste instead. The richness comes from the coconut milk used as a base, as for many Thai curries.
This dish is considered as a part of Thai Muslim cuisine, since implementing the Islamic dietary law, which pork is haram (forbidden) in Islam. There are two theories of Massaman curry originated. The first theory according by a Thai journalist and scholar Santi Sawetwimon, as well as Thai food experts David Thompson and Hanuman Aspler stated that this dish originated in 17th century in central Thailand through the Persian merchant Sheik Ahmad Qomi, from whom the noble Thai Bunnag family descendants during Ayutthaya period. The name “massaman” is a corruption of the word “mosalman”, an archaic word derived from Persian, meaning "Muslim" and the name “massaman” did not exist in Persian or Indian languages. The second theory which many Thai people likely to believe comes from Southern Thai cuisine, which has influenced by Malay and Indian cuisine.
The curry is extolled and appeared in the poem Kap He Chom Khrueang Khao Wan from the end of the 18th century, attributed to Prince Itsarasunthon of Siam (now Thailand), the later King Rama II (1767-1824). It is dedicated to a lady who is thought to be Princess Bunrot, the later Queen Sri Suriyendra, wife of King Rama II. The second stanza of the poem reads:
Massaman, a curry made by my beloved,
is fragrant of cumin and strong spices.
Any man who has swallowed the curry is bound to long for her.
The first-ever recipe of this dish was recorded or massaman curry by Lady Plean Passakornrawong in 1889: "Chicken Massaman curry with bitter orange juice", with Massaman spelled “Matsaman” for matching Thai pronunciation.
Today, The Massaman curry can be found and sold in many Thai Restaurants in home and abroad. In 2011, CNN Travel ranked this dish as the number one “The Most World’s 50 Best Foods” and still remained until 2021. This contributes the boost of popularity since Thai cuisine being recognised abroad.
Sources:
David Thompson, Thai Food (edition 2010), Pavilion Books, pages 329.
Cavendish, R. (2022). "Massaman", The Littie book of Curry. Chichester: Summersdale Publishers Ltd. 128 pp.
CNN Travel, “The world’s 50 best foods”. Published in 13 April 2021.
Derek Lucci, "How to Make Gaeng Massaman Neua (Thai Massaman Curry With Beef)". Serious Eats. Published in 12 July 2021.
K., Burapha Kabkaew,. University International College Thailand. (2023). Global Perspectives on Soft Power Management in Business. Pennsylvania: IGI Global. p. 131.
Leela Punyaratabandhu. "Massaman (Matsaman) Curry Recipe (แกงมัสมั่น)". She Simmers. Published in 5 July 2011.
Pailin Chongchitnant, Authentic Thai Massaman Curry with Chicken. Hot Thai Kitchen. Published in 14 August 2023.
Sorties into Thai cultural history, Office of the National Culture Commission, Ministry of Education, 1982.
The Magazine of Domestic Economy, Volume 5, p.63 (Google eBook), W.S. Orr & Company, 1840, accessed 2014-08-17: "A Mussulman Curry is made in the same way..."
Toschka, H.Y. , Rattanapanone, N. and Sinsawasdi, V.K. (2022). "Islamic Influence", The Science of Thai Cuisine: Chemical Properties and Sensory Attributes. Florida: CRC Press, an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group. 272 pp.
Wongcha-Um, Panu (2010). What is Thai Cuisine? Thai Culinary Identity Construction From The Rise of the Bangkok Dynasty to Its Revival (MA Thesis). Singapore: National University of Singapore.
