Beef Panang Curry

I know, I know, I already posted a beef panang curry recipe (here). I wouldn't have posted this meal except that I tried something a little bit novel, at least for me, and it turned out spectacularly.


Here's how it went down: I took a pack of beef stew meat out of my freezer on Sunday so that I could make chili on Monday. Monday, I got home from work and headed directly to the store to get the ingredients I needed for the chili. I was planning on making my regular chili recipe, a recipe I basically know by heart. I got home from the store and realized I forgot two key ingredients: onion and beer. 


Loyal readers, you know I have a busy life. When I get home from work, I am tired. Going to the store once is an ordeal, and twice is impossible. I was left with two options: make something different with the stew meat or make chili another night, but I have plans for Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and am likely leaving for Chicago on Friday evening. I don't want to make chili on Wednesday if that's the only night I'm home to eat it. So I had to figure out something else to make.


Whenever I don't know what to make with a certain ingredient I google "[whatever ingredient] martha stewart recipe" and on the rare chance I don't quickly find something that looks good, I will google "[whatever ingredient] recipe".  Martha failed me this time, but one of the first recipes I found with "beef stew meat recipe" was for beef panang.  Beef panang with stew meat?!? you say? I KNOW. But check this out:


~1 pound beef stew meat, trimmed and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
~2 Tbsp panang curry paste
1 can coconut milk
~1 Tbsp fish sauce
~1 Tbsp shaved palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks
Some basil leaves


1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the beef, reduce heat so that the water is simmering, and cook the beef for about an hour and a half, until the meat is tender.  Drain the meat*, and put aside.


2. Heat the vegetable oil in whatever you're going to make the curry in. I used the gorgeous All-Clad saute pan my parents got me for my birthday.  Thanks Mom and Dad!


3. Add the curry paste, and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant, then add the coconut milk and stir to combine.


4. Add the meat and bell pepper. Add the fish sauce and palm sugar. I don't measure either of these ingredients, so the quantities listed above might not be correct.  I'd say start with less, and add to your taste.


5. Simmer until the bell peppers are at your desired tenderness.  Add the basil leaves.


6. Serve over rice.


* The broth that is left after boiling the meat is delicious. I was effing starving while cooking this meal, so on a whim I spooned some of my already cooked rice into a bowl and poured the broth over it for a snack while the curry finished cooking. It was a fantastic snack. I saved the rest of the broth so I can pull that move again.


So, ya, boiling the meat first makes it super tender, and it soaks up all the delicious curry flavor. Very delicious.


Bon appetit.

Pumpkin Week: Thai Chicken and Pumpkin Curry

Last week a coworker of mine offered up sugar pie pumpkins to the office. Too many had grown, and he needed to get rid of them. I signed up for five.

Deciding on what to do with the pumpkins has been a fun activity. I want to make a variety of dishes, and pumpkin curry seemed like an obvious first choice since I had almost all the ingredients.

1 small pumpkin (sugar pie is best), seeded and cubed (~ 1 lb)
1 small onion, yellow
1 clove garlic, minced
3 Tbsp red Thai curry paste
1 can coconut milk
2 Tbsp grated palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1 Tbsp fish sauce
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb boneless and skinless thighs, cubed in to 1” pieces
½ red bell pepper, julienned
Juice from 1 lime
Handful of fresh cilantro on stem (1” long pieces)
¼ cup of fresh Thai basil
Steamed rice


1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add pumpkin and cook until barely tender (approximately 8 minutes). Drain and set aside.


2. Mix together the red curry paste, the onions and garlic. Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the mixture over low to medium heat until the aromas of paste begin to emerge.


3. Shake the can of coconut milk well, then whisk in half the coconut milk, the sugar, and the fish sauce to the pan. Once the oil begins to separate from the mixture, add the chicken and simmer until the chicken is fully cooked. Add the pumpkin, red pepper, and the remainder of the coconut milk. Cook until the pumpkin is fork tender. Add the lime juice.


4. Remove from heat, add the basil leaves and garnish with cilantro.


I will be posting the rest of my pumpkin recipes this week, and - spoiler alert - an amazing halloween manicure tomorrow.


Bon appetit.

Beef Panang Curry

The green papaya salad I made yesterday gave me a hankering for more Thai food. When I went to Fubonn to purchase the ingredients for the salad, I also stocked up on things like good curry paste and coconut milk. Since I have a ton of beef, as you know, and panang curry goes so well with beef, that is what I settled on for dinner.


I am tired, it has been a long week, and I need to pack for my upcoming trip to New Jersey, so let's get to business.


About 10 oz beef filet or tenderloin, thinly sliced
About 1/2 lb green beans, cut into 2 inch pieces 
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips
16 oz coconut milk, reserving 2 Tbsp for garnish
4 Tbsp panang curry paste (Mai Ploy brand is my favorite)
2 Tbsp palm sugar, grated
2 - 3 Tbsp fish sauce
1/2 cup fresh sweet basil leaves
1 red chili, sliced
4 Tbsp coarsely ground peanuts


1. Put half of the coconut milk into a wok (Ideally a wok, though I don't own a wok, so I made the curry in pan.  How un-Asian of me.) and fry for 3-5 minutes, stirring continuously, until the coconut oil begins to separate out.


2. Add the panang curry paste and fry for 1-2 minutes. Once the paste is cooked add the meat and cook until the outside of the meat is cooked.


3. Add the vegetables and rest of the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Simmer and add the palm sugar along the side of the wok until it melts and then and add the fish sauce. Stir to combine and then add half the basil leaves.  Cook until the veggies are at your desired doneness.


4. Turn off the heat and serve garnished with the red chillies, remaining basil leaves and remaining coconut milk.


Panang curry is traditionally meat only, but I was at the farmers market and couldn't resist getting some fresh veggies. 

We Americans don't care about bastardizing other cultures' food anyway, so add whatever vegetables you want. When I used to make curry on a regular basis, I would throw in whatever I had. It's a good way to get rid of veggies that are on the verge of going bad.


Also, I used beef round steak for the dish, sliced very thin. It is not ideal to use a tough cut like round, but sliced thinly, it works and tastes just fine. Tenderloin is expensive, and, in my opinion, it doesn't make sense to use it for curry. 


Bon appetit.

Raggameal: Peanut Noodles

Last night was my Fantasy Football draft.  You must be thinking, wow, Erin, you are probably a pretty big NFL fan.  I am not.  I don't know anything about football.  The only NFL players I can name are famous for things other than football.  Like Tom Brady, who I drafted by the way, impregnated both Michelle Moynahan and Gisele Bundchen so of course I know who he is.  

So, ya, it was draft night so I didn't have much time to deal with cooking.  I had planned on getting take out, but I didn't even have time for that.  I was talking to a friend, telling him I was about to dig in the cupboards to see what I could craft into a meal.  His response?  Oh, a raggameal, huh?  I love it.  Post title, check! 

I dug around, and found that I had rice noodles.  I always have peanut butter and the other ingredients for peanut sauce, and I miraculously had broccoli and a red pepper.  I don't even remember when or why I bought those two items, but there they were, in my fridge and fresh(ish).

I have made peanut noodles before (see here) so this recipe is not new, but whatever.

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small chili pepper, minced
1 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
3 Tbsp chopped unsalted roasted peanuts

1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

some broccoli, cut into florettes

(You can use whatever veggies you want)

1 package rice noodles

(I used pad thai-type noodles, but anything will work here.  Even non-rice noodles are good.  I have made peanut noodles with spaghetti before, and it was delicious)

1 tsp sesame seeds

1.  Make peanut sauce.

Heat oil in saucepan.  DO NOT HEAT TOO MUCH.  Keep the burner on low - medium.  Add garlic and chili pepper and cook for 15 seconds.  Add peanut butter and stir until warm.  Add soy sauce and stir until combined.  Add water a bit at a time, stirring, until combined.  Add remaining ingredients, stir, and cook 4 minutes.  I usually end up using more like 2-3 Tbsp brown sugar, but you can adjust the ingredients to your tastes.  I also add a healthy dose of Sriracha. 

2.  Cook the broccoli and red pepper, if you want.  I am not a huge fan of raw broccoli, though I do like raw red peppers.  I sauted the broccoli until tender, then turned off the skillet and threw in the red peppers.  They got kind of warm, but didn't really cook.

3.  Boil water and cook the noodles as the package directs.

4.  Here is choice time.  Do you want cold noodles (my preference) or warm noodles.  If you want warm, drain the pasta, throw in the veggies and peanut sauce, toss and eat.  This works best if the peanut sauce is still warm.  If you want cold noodles, you have to let the peanut sauce cool a bit.  Then drain the noodles and run cold water over them.  Add the veggies and peanut sauce and toss.

5.  Put some on a plate and sprinkle sesame seeds to make it pretty.  Eat.

According to the authorities, I did really well in my draft.  Yay! I did have one autopick because I missed my slot while cooking, but whatever.

Oh, and like all my cooking, it was delicious.  I ate WAY too much of it.

Bon appetit.

Salmon with Fennel, Bell Pepper, and Grapefruit Salad

I wasn't going to post this meal because it is a strange little something that I threw together after somewhat randomly choosing items at Whole Foods that looked good to me.  I wanted some salmon, so that was the first item.  Then wandering through the produce area, I decided on fennel because I love fennel and haven't cooked with it in a while.  Next I grabbed red bell peppers, because... I don't know, why not.  Then I remembered that I once upon a time had a recipe for fennel and bell pepper salad with an orange and parmesan dressing.  I was more in the mood for grapefruit and into the basket one went.


I sauteed thinly sliced fennel and bell peppers, and instead of making a dressing, I just peeled the grapefruit, removed the membranes, and added it to the mix.  I must say, it was quite delicious.


I salted and peppered the salmon and cooked it in a cast iron pan.


(There you go, Santina: A new post.  You happy?)


Bon appetit.

Grilled Veggie Sandwich

This meal is so not in line with my goal of eating all the beef in my freezer, nor is it normal for me to prepare a dinner completely absent of meat, but sometimes I just get a craving for something really specific.  Last Sunday, that craving was a grilled veggie sandwich with hummus.


I don't have much to say about the recipe for making this sandwich.  Okay, I guess I have a couple pearls of advice, some of which may be common knowledge?  I don't know.


1.  You should always salt slices of eggplant and let them weep for a half hour or so before grilling (or using them for whatever you're going to use them for) to remove bitterness.


2.  The best way to roast bell peppers is to put them under the broiler, turning them until all sides are pretty well blackened.  Then remove them from the oven, put them in a paper bag, seal the paper bag however you want to seal it (I fold it down then secure it with bag clips), and let them cool in the bag.  Doing this makes the skin easy to remove.


3.  This isn't advice, but grilled romaine is really tasty.


4.  So is bread brushed with olive oil and grilled.


I guess the above is sort of the recipe for the sandwich I made, being that if you put everything mentioned together with a spread of hummus, that's it.


Bon appetit.