Malaysian Beef Curry

By mirandavoegeli

Recipes + Menus | recipes

Malaysian Beef Curry
If you don't have a slow cooker, use a covered Dutch oven; cook the curry in a 325ºF oven until the beef is tender, about 2 hours, adding 1/2 cup water if the stew is dry. The spice paste can be made up to a week ahead of cooking.

6 servings

PREP TIME:

30 minutes

TOTAL TIME:

6 hours 15 minutes (includes slow-cooker time)

Recipe by Ivy Manning

March 2011

Ingredients

• 8 large dried New Mexico chiles
• 4 lemongrass stalks
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce (such as nam pla or nuoc nam)
• 1 tablespoon golden brown sugar
• 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 13.5- to 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
• 8 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon tamarind paste or tamarind concentrate
• Chopped fresh cilantro
• Steamed rice

Details

Servings 6
Cooking time 390mins
Adapted from bonappetit.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preparation

spice paste

Cover chiles with very hot water and soak until soft, about 45 minutes. Drain. Stem, seed, and chop chiles.

Cut off bottom 4 inches from lemongrass stalks; chop and transfer to processor (reserve tops of stalks for stew). Add shallots, garlic, coriander, cumin, ginger, and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper; process until finely ground. Add 1/2 cup water, chiles, fish sauce, and sugar; process to paste. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 week ahead. Transfer to bowl. Cover; chill.

stew

Smash reserved tops of lemongrass from spice paste with mallet or rolling pin. Bend in half; bundle with kitchen twine. Mix beef and spice paste in slow cooker. Stir in lemongrass bundles, coconut milk, lime leaves, star anise, cinnamon, and tamarind. Press meat down to completely submerge. Cook stew on low heat until meat is very tender, 41/2 to 5 hours. Tilt pot and spoon off excess fat from surface of stew. Remove lemongrass bundles, lime leaves, star anise, and cinnamon stick.

Transfer stew to bowl. Sprinkle cilantro over and serve with steamed rice.

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