Dish of Beef Red Curry
(click to enlarge)

Beef Red Curry


Thailand   -   Kaeng Ped Neua
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 4 w/rice
***
1-1/4 hrs
Part		 This is a popular Thai country curry. Though more often made with pork, beef is also used. Because they are handled a bit differently, we have a separate recipe for Pork Red Curry.

14
7
3
3
2-1/2
1/3
-------
2
3/4
3
1
-------
2
2
oz
oz
oz
oz
oz
c
---
c
c
T
t
---
T
T
Beef (1)
Eggplant, Thai (2)
Long Beans (3)
Bamboo Shoots (4)
Chili red (5)
Thai Basil leaves
-- Broth
Stock (6)
Water
Fish Sauce
Sugar (opt)
-----------
Oil
Red Curry Paste (7)  
Prep   -   (35 min)
  1. Slice BEEF about 1/8 inch across the grain, and cut into strips about 1-1/2 by 3/4 inches, or whatever works with the beef you have. Unfortunately bovines are not rectangular.
  2. Place Beef in a pan with Water to cover well. Bring to a boil for 1 minute, then strain out and rinse Beef (this is to keep the curry liquid clear).
  3. Cut EGGPLANTS lengthwise into 6 wedges (if Thai eggplants - see Note-2 for others). Keep eggplants in cold water acidulated with some Citric Acid or Lemon Juice until needed.
  4. Cut LONG BEANS into 1 to 1-1/2 inch lengths.
  5. Slice BAMBOO SHOOTS thin and cut into pieces about 1 inch long by about 1/2 inch wide.
  6. Cap CHILIS. Cut in half lengthwise, remove seeds and cut crosswise into strips about 1/8 inch wide.
  7. Remove BASIL LEAVES from stems and start soaking in cold water (this is so they stay green longer in the curry).
  8. Mix together all Broth items.
Run   -   (40 min)
  1. In a wok or spacious sauté pan heat Oil over moderate heat and stir in Curry Paste until it is well distributed and aromatic, but no browning.
  2. Stir in the Beef and fry stirring for a few minutes until it is hot and well coated with the curry paste.
  3. Stir in Broth mix and Bamboo Shoots. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer until Beef is tender, about 15 minutes.
  4. Stir in Eggplant and Long Beans. Bring back to a boil and continue to simmer until just tender but not mushy, about 12 minutes for Thai eggplants, somewhat less for others.
  5. Drain Basil Leaves. If you wish, separate some out to use as Garnish. Cut the rest into wide shreds
  6. When ready to serve, stir in Red Chili for just a minute, then turn off heat and stir in Basil Leaves.
  7. Serve immediately with plenty of steamed Jasmine rice. In Thailand they probably spoon it over the rice, but I serve it beside the rice in a deep plate, with a good amount of the broth, to be mixed as desired.
NOTES:

  1. Beef:

      Weight is for boneless with all excess fat removed. A flavorful but not too tough cut such as shoulder is best, but since it is sliced thin, round can be used with a little longer cooking.

  2. Thai Eggplant:

      These are green and white and golf ball size. They cook significantly differently from other eggplants and are well worth searching out. If you don't have them, use Indian eggplants which are purple and egg size, so cut them into quarters lengthwise, cut the wedges in half crosswise (8 pieces), and cook just a bit less. Lacking even those, use Japanese or Italian eggplants split in quarters lengthwise and cut crosswise about 3/4 inch thick. Cook those even less. For details see our Eggplant Page.

  3. Long Beans:

      These have an afinity for beef, and are now widely grown in California, available in most markets serving a Southeast Asian community. For details see our Long Beans page. Regular green beans have a much different flavor, but can be used, but give them less cooking time.

  4. Bamboo Shoots:

      Preferably buy these in vacuum pack bags. This avoids the par boiling step recommended to remove the tinny flavor of canned Bamboo Shoots.

  5. Chili:

      The pattern recipe calls for Prik Chee Fah, but they aren't much available in North America. Around here everyone uses red ripe Fresno chilis, but Holland Red would also work. For details see our Thai Chilis Page.

  6. Stock:

      In Asian cooking there is no requirement for the stock to match the meat, so beef, pork or chicken stock can be used.

  7. Red Curry Paste

      This is one of the essentials of Thai cooking, and is available commercially (with a lot of variation between brands). It is better made at home. The amount in this recipe is scaled for our Red Curry Paste, recipe, which is fairly hot. 2 T is about the minimum to make this curry "satisfyingly hot" by Southern California standards, but it would be woefully mild by Thai standards. Use your own best judgement, but only wimps from the Frozen North would go as low as 1 T.   Note: "Red Curry Sauce" sold by yuppie food outlets is unsuitable for real Thai recipes.
  8. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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