Thai Mussalman Beef Curry

This curry is made in the southern part of Thailand that is close to the border with Malaysia, and is obviously heavily Indian-inspired, the Thai twist here being the lemongrass, galangal and coconut milk.

The ingredient list looks daunting, but most of it can be bought at your friendly neighborhood Asian market. The actual cooking of this dish is incredibly easy and this is one of the most flavorful curries I've ever prepared.

Mussalman curry paste

Dry ingredients:
1 T coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 cloves
10 black peppercorns
2 dried red chilies

Wet ingredients:
1 1/2 T chopped fresh lemongrass
1 1/2 T grated galangal (easiest to do frozen, with a Microplane grater)
2 T minced garlic
1/2 cup minced shallots
6 Thai chilies, chopped finely (optional)
1 T salt

Method:

Dry fry the dry spices in a nonstick pan on medium heat until toasted but not burned. Grind to a powder in a coffee grinder reserved for spices. Combine with wet ingredients.

Main curry

1 cup shallots, chopped finely
4 T garlic, chopped finely
3 T coconut cream (comes in blocks)
3 T ground Spanish peanuts (with skin on)
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 T nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
3 T tamarind paste (comes in a plastic container in the consistency of ketchup)
3 T palm sugar (brown sugar may be substituted)
3 bay leaves
3 cups chicken broth
2 T Thai red curry paste
1 1/2 lbs. good quality top sirloin, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 large russet potato, peeled and cubed
Cilantro
Ghee (clarified butter) or peanut oil

Method:

Brown beef in nonstick frypan with ghee (or oil) in two batches. Set aside. In more ghee/oil, sauté curry paste with shallots, garlic, and coconut cream until well combined and cream is melted.

Add meat back to pan. Add ground peanuts. Sauté 10 minutes uncovered, stirring often.

Add coconut milk, nam pla, tamarind paste, palm sugar, bay leaves, chicken broth and curry paste. Stir until well combined, simmer uncovered 15 minutes, stirring often.

Add potatoes and simmer on low, covered, 25 more minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Serve on coconut jasmine rice (see recipe below) with cilantro garnish and cucumber/red onion/tomato/ chile side salad.

Coconut Thai Rice

This subtly spiced rice will just hint of coconut — no need to overpower it.

2 cups Thai jasmine rice
2 tsp ghee or peanut oil

3 cloves
3 cardamom pods
2-inch stick cinammon
1 bay leaf

3 cloves garlic, minced
3 large shallots, finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger (easiest to do with frozen ginger and a Microplane grater)
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 3/4 cups chicken broth

Method:

Wash rice several times until the water runs completely clear. Soak in cold water for 2 hours, or even overnight (past a certain point, the rice will no longer absorb any water.)

Drain rice in colander. In a large, nonstick frypan with a tight-fitting lid, sauté the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaf and shallots in ghee or oil on medium for about five minutes. Add the rice, ginger and garlic, and sauté, stirring but making sure not to break the grains, for about five minutes more. Mix coconut milk and broth and heat in the microwave; add to the rice, stir to combine, reduce heat to minimum, cover tightly (you might want an aluminum foil assist) and steam for about 18 minutes. Turn off heat and wait ten minutes (or as long as you want after that.) Remove hard spices, fluff rice and serve.