Massaman Curry Lab
Curry paste, meat, potatoes, peanuts, tamarind and palm sugar per can of coconut milk.
95 recipes from 66 sites, each reduced to grams and counted per can of coconut milk: the grams of each ingredient for every can of coconut milk in the recipe, a can counted as 400 g, so a small recipe and a double batch line up. Below: the typical pot, how far recipes stray from it, and a page for every recipe with a link to the original.
Recipes
95
from 66 sites
Typical coconut milk
1 can
400 g, one pot
Lines weighed
82%
of ingredient lines
Weights printed
23%
by the source, rest converted
One name, several recipes. Each recipe is typed by what its title calls it; the medians below are per type, in grams per can of coconut milk. Types with only a few recipes are rough.
| Type | Recipes | Curry paste | Meat, fish or tofu | Potatoes | Onions | Peanuts | Fish or soy sauce | Tamarind or lime | Sugar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beef | 37 | 40 g | 444 g | 400 g | 58 g | 30 g | 18 g | 15 g | 12 g |
| Chicken | 34 | 38 g | 386 g | 250 g | 29 g | 15 g | 6 g | 0 g | 2.6 g |
| Lamb | 5 | 84 g | 1183 g | 320 g | 59 g | 14 g | 21 g | 15 g | 14 g |
| Vegan or vegetable | 17 | 63 g | 0 g | 247 g | 69 g | 23 g | 0 g | 11 g | 0 g |
middle half, and the median (the number at right; when most use none, the share that uses any)middle half of every recipesmall number after a name: recipes
The median of all 95 recipes for each ingredient, scaled to 1 can. No single recipe is exactly this: each line is the middle of its own distribution. “Most recipes” means the middle half, from the 25th to the 75th percentile.
| Ingredient | Grams |
|---|---|
| Coconut milkThe scale for everything else | 400 g1 can |
| Curry pasteMost recipes use 25 to 70 g | 48 gabout 3 tbsp |
| Meat, fish or tofu25% use none; the rest mostly 315 to 700 g | 355 g |
| PotatoesMost recipes use 195 to 465 g | 315 gabout 1 1/2 medium potatoes |
| Onions32% use none; the rest mostly 50 to 140 g | 50 gabout 1/2 medium onion |
| Peanuts35% use none; the rest mostly 25 to 60 g | 24 gabout 2 1/2 tbsp |
| Fish or soy sauce34% use none; the rest mostly 18 to 36 g | 18 gabout 1 tbsp |
| Tamarind or lime40% use none; the rest mostly 15 to 30 g | 14 gabout 2 1/2 tsp |
| Sugar31% use none; the rest mostly 7 to 21 g | 8 gabout 2 tsp |
Volumes are approximate: a can of coconut milk counted as 400 g, about 1 2/3 cups; curry paste about 16 g a tablespoon; a medium potato 213 g; a medium onion 110 g; peanuts 145 g a cup; fish sauce 18 g a tablespoon; tamarind paste about 17 g a tablespoon; palm or brown sugar about 13 g a tablespoon.
Each dot is a recipe, placed by grams of the ingredient per can of coconut milk. The shaded band is the middle half of recipes and the line is the median.
median 48 g per can of coconut milk (about 3 tbsp) · most 25 to 68 g
Bought massaman paste, usually, or the weight of a homemade one's ingredients.
range 0 to 205 g · 13% use none
median 355 g per can of coconut milk · 25% use none
Beef, chicken or lamb braised in the sauce, bone and all, or tofu in a vegan version. The slow-cooked beef recipes use the most.
range 0 to 1578 g · those that use some, mostly 316 to 698 g
median 316 g per can of coconut milk (about 1 1/2 medium potatoes) · most 197 to 463 g
Potatoes or sweet potatoes, simmered until they start to thicken the sauce.
range 0 to 1509 g · 15% use none
median 52 g per can of coconut milk (about 1/2 medium onion) · 32% use none
An onion or a few shallots in the curry; recipes with a homemade paste count its shallots as paste.
range 0 to 434 g · those that use some, mostly 51 to 141 g
median 24 g per can of coconut milk (about 2 1/2 tbsp) · 35% use none
Roasted peanuts or peanut butter cooked into the curry. Peanuts scattered on top count as a garnish.
range 0 to 145 g · those that use some, mostly 25 to 59 g
median 18 g per can of coconut milk (about 1 tbsp) · 34% use none
Fish sauce for salt, or soy sauce in vegan versions.
range 0 to 111 g · those that use some, mostly 18 to 36 g
median 14 g per can of coconut milk (about 2 1/2 tsp) · 40% use none
Tamarind for the sour note, or lime juice.
range 0 to 99 g · those that use some, mostly 15 to 30 g
median 7.7 g per can of coconut milk (about 1 3/4 tsp) · 31% use none
Palm or brown sugar, to balance the tamarind and fish sauce.
range 0 to 54 g · those that use some, mostly 7.3 to 21 g
Measured by how far apart the 25th and 75th percentile recipes are. The widest gaps are where the choice of recipe matters most.
Recipes agree most on potatoes and curry paste: potatoes 197 to 463 g per can of coconut milk, curry paste 25 to 68 g per can of coconut milk for the middle half.
95 of the recipes come in 4 languages with enough of each to compare: English 53, Dutch 18, German 16, French 8.
English recipes whose titles use a word, against the ones that do not. What recipe writers do when they pick the word, not proof that it makes the texture.
Recipes with “beef” in the title: more curry paste (126 g vs 49 g); more sugar (14 g vs 6.3 g).
“beef” (14)the rest (39)middle half of all
Curry pasterecipes with beef in the title 126 g vs the rest 49 g
Sugarrecipes with beef in the title 14 g vs the rest 6.3 g
Nearest the median on every ingredient at once.
In 4 languages: English 53, Dutch 18, German 16, French 8. Lines in other languages are read in their own units and words, and each recipe page links to the original. 66 sites in all. No site contributes more than 12 recipes.
Every ingredient line is converted to grams and grouped (coconut milk and coconut cream count as coconut milk; tamarind, lime and vinegar as the sour), then divided by the weight of the coconut milk and shown per can of coconut milk, a can counted as 400 g. That is the only comparison that holds across recipes of different sizes.
82% of the 1,372 ingredient lines got a weight. 23% of those weights were printed by the source; the rest were converted from cups, spoons and counts with standard weights, so treat single recipes as close, not exact. Garnishes and toppings are listed on each recipe page but left out of the numbers.
A recipe outside the plausible range for any ingredient is left out rather than allowed to stretch every chart; it is usually a different dish with the same name or a misread line. Of the pages fetched, 25 were left out: 7 with no coconut milk, or none that could be weighed, 6 with a title that names a different dish, 4 too many lines without an amount, 4 too few ingredient lines, 3 with an ingredient in amounts that could not be weighed, and 1 duplicate of another page.
Every recipe page links to the original, which is where the method is. Recipe Lab does not republish instructions or photos.