I had a hankering for curry the other day, and more specifically coconut milk based curry. So, tonight, I made a beef curry in a Thai style. This is a quick throw together meal, except for the simmering time.
- 1 lb beef chunk, cut into 1 inch cubes
Brown these well in a 3 qt pot or pan. Meanwhile, in a food processor, grind up:
- 3 anaheim chilies, destemed and deseeded
- 2 serrano or thai "bird" chillies, tops cut off, seeds left in (I like heat, you can remove the seeds and ribs if you wish)
- 1 bunch green onions
- 1 inch cube of ginger, peeled
- handful of cillantro
- juice of 1 lime
- 1 T fish sauce
- 1 T cumin powder
- 1 T "curry powder"
- 1 T corriander powder
Blend well into a paste, then add half a cup of water and mix again until fully combined. Dump the resulting paste into the hot pan, once the meat is fully browned. Allow to sizzle for a moment, make sure the liquid level is up to at least 3/4 of the way up the meat -- covering the meat is OK. Add more water if needed.
Reduce heat to a simmer, cover the pan. Let stew for 1.5 hours, or until the meat seems to be getting close to being done. Check for seasonings (mine needed some salt and more lime juice). Then add to the pot vegetables that you'd like. I used:
- 1 can mini corn (whee!), drained
- 1 can straw mushrooms, drained
- 1/2 lb fresh pea pods
Cover again and simmer until the vegetables are cooked close to your liking. Then add:
- 1 can coconut milk
Leave uncovered and let return to heat slowly. Don't boil it too briskly at this point or the fat may separate out of the coconut milk. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
I served it over basic steamed rice, and garnished the top with some more cillantro leaves. Had I been thinking when I was at the store, I'd have also used some crushed peanuts -- but I wasn't, and so I didn't.
Posted by dowdy at February 4, 2003 03:03 AM