The first time I saw this recipe was on Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey and I was amazing at how simple it was and how delicious it must taste. So when the repeat came on Saturday Kitchen, I quickly scribbled down the recipe and made it with one of the last batches of diced chuck from The East London Steak Company.
The dish turned out to be as easy as it looked and tasted much much better than I could have possibly imagined! The meat is tender and juicy; the sauce rich with spices yet still sweet from the coconut and with a kick from the chilli towards the end. The whole dish has a strong meaty richness but at the same time is unbelievably light given the ingredients. I took the leftovers to work the next day and it tasted even better. I’ve seen the paste in the Thai shop many times previously but I’m glad I made it because there is much satisfaction gained when you perfect a curry made from scratch.
I didn’t a chance to get the Thai holy basil to garnish this dish when I first made it so I used regular basil instead. It really doesn’t do the dish justice, so if you can get your hands on holy basil, use that! The other thing was the tamarind water, Rick uses tamarind pulp, but I used a tamarind stock cube to get the same taste. I find the dried stock cubes easier to store and use than the pulp/paste that you find in the regular stores.
Ingredients
Tamarind stock cube + 50 ml water
for the curry paste
4 dried red Kashmiri Chillies, roughly chopped, with one or two sliced down the centre for garnish
2 tsp Coriander seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
7 green Cardamom pods (seeds only)
6 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
½ inch Cinnamon stick
1 piece blade mace
2 Shallots, roughly chopped
1 tsp Shrimp paste
1 inch piece Ginger, roughly chopped
1 Lemongrass stalk, chopped
1/5 tin Coconut milk
for the curry
1lb diced Chuck steak
4/5 tin Coconut milk
3 green Cardamom pods
2 inch stick Cinnamon
3 Potatoes, diced
3 Shallots, halved
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
Tamarind water
1 tsp Sugar
handful roasted Peanuts
handful Thai basil to garnish
Recipe
Prepare the tamarind water by dissolving the stock cube in the water.
For the paste, dry fry chillies, then transfer to a pestle and mortar. Dry fry coriander, cumin, cardamom seeds, cloves, cinnamon and mace for a few seconds until aromatic. Add to mortar and grind to a powder.
In the same frying pan, slowly fry onion and garlic in a bit of oil until caramelised, add shrimp paste and ground spices. Fry for a couple of minutes. Then transfer everything to a food processer, add coconut milk, lemon grass and ginger and blend to a smooth paste. Set aside until required.
For the curry, fry beef in a bit of oil until browned. Add coconut milk, then top the tin with water and add that to the pan. Add the whole cardamom pods, cinnamon and salt. Bring to simmer and cook for 2 hours or until beef is tender. Once beef is tender, remove the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick. Add potatoes, shallots, curry paste, fish sauce and tamarind water. Simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.
When potatoes are tender, add peanuts. Serve over cooked jasmine rice and garnish with holy basil. Eat.
The dish turned out to be as easy as it looked and tasted much much better than I could have possibly imagined! The meat is tender and juicy; the sauce rich with spices yet still sweet from the coconut and with a kick from the chilli towards the end. The whole dish has a strong meaty richness but at the same time is unbelievably light given the ingredients. I took the leftovers to work the next day and it tasted even better. I’ve seen the paste in the Thai shop many times previously but I’m glad I made it because there is much satisfaction gained when you perfect a curry made from scratch.
I didn’t a chance to get the Thai holy basil to garnish this dish when I first made it so I used regular basil instead. It really doesn’t do the dish justice, so if you can get your hands on holy basil, use that! The other thing was the tamarind water, Rick uses tamarind pulp, but I used a tamarind stock cube to get the same taste. I find the dried stock cubes easier to store and use than the pulp/paste that you find in the regular stores.
The other ingredient I found difficult to source was the black cardamom pods, as I could only find green cardamom pods in my local Waitrose, though I’m sure I have seen the black pods in the supermarket before. The difference between the two is that the green pods have a fresh lemony/citrus’ flavour and scent whereas the black pods are smoky in flavour. I didn’t have a substitute ingredient to replace the smokiness so I made do with just the green pods.
Overall I love this recipe and would probably make it again next time I have diced chuck. It needs a lot more experimenting in future though as Rick asks for 3lbs of meat, which is a huge amount for two people, and I only used 1lb. This required a lot of guess work and tasting to make sure I got the spices right, and I think I managed well. But if I get my hands on black cardamom, I’ll have to rethink the spicing.
Ingredients
Tamarind stock cube + 50 ml water
for the curry paste
4 dried red Kashmiri Chillies, roughly chopped, with one or two sliced down the centre for garnish
2 tsp Coriander seeds
1 tsp Cumin seeds
7 green Cardamom pods (seeds only)
6 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
½ inch Cinnamon stick
1 piece blade mace
2 Shallots, roughly chopped
1 tsp Shrimp paste
1 inch piece Ginger, roughly chopped
1 Lemongrass stalk, chopped
1/5 tin Coconut milk
for the curry
1lb diced Chuck steak
4/5 tin Coconut milk
3 green Cardamom pods
2 inch stick Cinnamon
3 Potatoes, diced
3 Shallots, halved
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
Tamarind water
1 tsp Sugar
handful roasted Peanuts
handful Thai basil to garnish
Recipe
Prepare the tamarind water by dissolving the stock cube in the water.
For the paste, dry fry chillies, then transfer to a pestle and mortar. Dry fry coriander, cumin, cardamom seeds, cloves, cinnamon and mace for a few seconds until aromatic. Add to mortar and grind to a powder.
In the same frying pan, slowly fry onion and garlic in a bit of oil until caramelised, add shrimp paste and ground spices. Fry for a couple of minutes. Then transfer everything to a food processer, add coconut milk, lemon grass and ginger and blend to a smooth paste. Set aside until required.
For the curry, fry beef in a bit of oil until browned. Add coconut milk, then top the tin with water and add that to the pan. Add the whole cardamom pods, cinnamon and salt. Bring to simmer and cook for 2 hours or until beef is tender. Once beef is tender, remove the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick. Add potatoes, shallots, curry paste, fish sauce and tamarind water. Simmer for 30 minutes uncovered.
When potatoes are tender, add peanuts. Serve over cooked jasmine rice and garnish with holy basil. Eat.
3 comments:
Slow cooked beef curries are awesome. I love the fact that you made your own paste. Where did you get Tamarind Stock Cubes from and what are Kashmir Chillies (any alternate suggestions).
I have everything else, even shrimp paste, man that stinks
I know what you mean about the shrimp paste. I don't tell my BF when I put it in food. :p
Kashmiri Chillies are these long dried red chillies (http://domino-35.prominic.net/A55C37/mdd.nsf/dx/374-Kashmiri-2008-(5).jpg), you can get these in Healthy Supplies. Or substitute for fresh red birds eye chillies. I find the dried ones aren't as hot as the fresh, so I'd go for two kashmiri chillies to one fresh birds eye.
I'm lucky to have a Thai supermarket near me that stocks Knorr brand tamarind stock cubes, about 6 cubes for £1.69. Waitrose, Bart and healthy supplies all stock tamrind paste, which is what Rick Stein uses in the original recipe.
Ok thanks, I have a Chinese Supermarket near me, next time I'm in I'll see if they "stock" (my another funny I'm on a roll) any of the Knorr stuff
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