Recipe: Curried Beef (Pah-naeng Neua)

Curried Beef (Pah-naeng Neua)
rec.food.cooking/Jim Lew/1994

(pah-naeng curry refers to red curry, which is a base used in making various curry type dishes.)

1 lb beef, cut into thin strips
3 tbsp, phanaeng curry paste (or red curry paste, see below)
6 fresh or dry kaffir lime leaves
1/2 cup sweet basil leaves
1 fresh chilli (seeded and cut into strips)
2 cups coconut milk
1/3 cup chicken stock
3 tbsp. palm sugar
2 1/2 tbsp. fish sauce
1/ tsp. salt
1/2 cup ground roasted peanuts

Put the coconut milk into medium-sized sauce pan over medium heat, add the curry paste and slowly bring to a boil, stirring constantly.

Put in beef strips and cook for 5 minutes

Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients except for the sweet basil and fresh chilli. Add this to the curried beef, and simmer about 15 minutes. Add the sweet basil and fresh chilli, stir well, and remove from heat

Red Curry Paste

13 small dried chillies, soaked in hot water for 5 minutes and deseeded
3 tablespoons chopped shallot
4 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 tablespoon chopped galangal
2 tablespoons chopped lemon grass
2 teaspoons chopped kaffir lime ringe
1 tablespoon chopped coriander root
20 pepper corns
1 teaspoon shrimp paste
1 tablespoon coriander seed
1 teaspoon cumin seed

In a wok over low heat, put the coriander seeds and cumin seeds and dry fry for about 5 minutes, the grind into powder.

In a blender, put the rest of the ingredients except the shrimp paste and blend to mix well. Then add the coriander seed-cumin seed mixture and the shrimp paste and blend again to obtain about 3/4 of a fine- textured paste

Can be stored for 3-4 months.