Reddit mentions of Maesri Thai masaman curry - 4 oz x 2 cans

Ok, boss. Now we are getting somewhere. TK stuff is made for the American market. It's weak sauce compared to the paste they sell in Thailand. The authentic Thai restaurants in the USA make a robust curry that TK can't touch.

The good news is you can buy authentic Thai curry paste that they sell in Thailand on Amazon. Luckily, I can buy it at the local Asian grocery. The brand to seek is Maesri curry paste. https://www.amazon.com/Maesri-Thai-masaman-curry-cans/dp/B000ETQ4XE

The masaman curry version I linked is the least hot of the Maesri curry pastes, but it's still pretty hot. The red and the green curry pastes are wicked hot.

I tend to use the recipe on the Maesri can which calls for coconut milk. Then I add can of chicken broth, supplementary spices, fish sauce, ground peanuts, lime juice and tamarind to compensate for dilution. It tastes very similar to one of my local Thai eateries that people rave about.

Well you don't want to replace meat with fruits and vegetables, you want to replace meat with legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, and tofu and meat substitute products. You should be eating roughly the same amount of fruits and vegetables regardless of how much meat you eat.

Check out /r/vegetarian, the wiki has a "meatless monday" recipe guide with a lot of good ideas. I just went vegetarian a few months ago and have actually found it pretty easy. The folks there are really helpful if you have more questions.

Some things that I make regularly that might give you inspiration:

Red bean and orzo soup

Black bean chili

Red beans and rice

Massaman curry with tofu (I just use curry paste instead of making my own paste)

I also was gifted America Test Kitchen's vegetarian cookbook, and it's really excellent. You might check that out too.

if they are on clearance most likely they are old, and therefore are pretty much useless. you can usually get Thai curry pastes for dirt cheap at any asian market. Masaman this is my favorite brand, and it is 1.29 for a can at the Thai market by my house. stay away from Thai Kitchen products, they are very bland IMO.


That being said, the Thai yellow curry, is it a powder or paste? if its a paste, fry it in some oil until you can get that wonderful thai smell going, throw in some chopped onions, you want the onions cut pretty large since its going to be stewing for awhile. peal and dice some potatoes, and parboil them. you want them edible, but just barely. I love chicken curries, so I take a chicken breast and slice it very thin, it actually helps to have it somewhat frozen, you want it VERY thin. after the paste and onions are sweated out nicely, throw in the chicken an a can of coconut milk and the potatoes and let it simmer for a good 15 mins or so, salt to taste and use sambal, or red pepper flakes, to spice it to the level you like.

You can order [cans of the chili paste online](
https://www.amazon.com/Maesri-Thai-masaman-curry-cans/dp/B000ETQ4XE) and then follow the recipe on the can to get an easy tasty meal (well, I add a tablespoon of fish sauce and a tablespoon of cane syrup or brown sugar to mine for even better results). Maesri brand masaman curry paste is good.

This one is good IMO. Not too spicy.

You could also try Japanese curry which is a different beast all together.

If you'd like a simple starting point for thai curries, this right here is a fantastic starting point. There are also variety packs to try different ones.


Massaman Curry is one of my favorite things in the world. I typically make it with chicken, potato (sometimes sweet potato), sometimes with carrots, green peppers, or onion, always over rice. Don't forget to cook the peanuts either! :)


Next up is to grab some fish sauce, lemongrass, and ginger. I personally like Squid fish sauce. It is foul beyond belief if you give it a smell or pour it in a hot wok but it works magic. (I also add it to chili and meatloaf for umami). For the ginger and lemongrass, I won't lie, I often by those tubes of crushed stuff instead of actual lemon grass and ginger.


The Maesri pastes are a good starting point but working a little variation of the fish sauce, lemon grass, and ginger can get you a much better flavor.


For heat some sambal oelek is a pretty (this is a nice 3 pack of thai seasonings that has fish sauce and the chili paste) and maybe some ground thai chili.


Here is a recipe you can use as a starting point, I'd recommend frying the paste a minute or two then add coconut milk and letting that simmer a bit before getting into the rest of it. I personally wouldn't add peanut butter, though I make sure to cook with actual peanuts. If you have problems finding the tamarind paste, you'll be fine, though it is a good one to have.