Thai Red Beef Curry (Cà ri bò kiểu Thái)

I'm a fan of Thai food and luckily my husband loves Thai food too. Last friday, we had a date night and we tried a new Thai restaurant in Midtown on the East side of Manhattan. We ordered a Thai beef curry and the taste was kinda weird. After I found a Thai grocery store, I decided to make my own. Actually, I never follow the exact recipes, I always adjust to my taste--luckily it always turns out good. For The Thai Red Beef Curry, I used lots of vegetables with the beef and red curry paste: taro, potatoes, okra, string beans, tomatoes, carrots, Thai lime kafirr, and Thai sweet basil. I also used coconut milk and Coco Rico for the soup. If you want to try something new, I think you will love this one. My husband told me I made this dish better than the Thai restaurant in NYC lol. I know that he loves me and he loves my food but i think he's telling the truth :)

Ingredients:

• 2 sirloin beef or bison steaks (6 to 8 oz. each) OR equivalent, cut into thin strips or small bite-size chunks
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 4 cloves garlic
• 3 Thai lime Kafirr OR substitute bay leaf
• 1/2 cup diced tomato 
• 1lbs taro (chop/slice and steam)
• 10 Okra
• 1- 2 big carrot
• 1/2 tsp. whole cummin seed
• 1 cup string beans
• 1-2 medium potatoes (chop/slice and steam)
• 1 Tbsp. coconut oil or vegetable oil 
• 5Tbsp. Coco Rico
  
  CURRY SAUCE:
• 1 stalk fresh lemongrass, finely sliced, OR 2-3 Tbsp. frozen prepared lemongrass
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR fresh ginger, sliced
• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1+1/2 tsp. Red curry paste
• 1 Tbsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 2/3 can coconut milk (reserve remaining 1/3 for later)

* Tip: To make the beef more flavorful, you can season it first for 15minutes with 1tsp of salt, 1tsp of pepper, 1tsp of chicken powder, 1tbsp of yellow curry powder, 1tbsp of ground garlic.

 Preparation:

1. Combine all 'Curry Sauce' ingredients together in a food processor or blender, process until well blended and set aside OR you can simply pour all the "Curry Sauce" ingredients to the wok if you don't want to blend it in the food processor.
2. Warm a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and swirl around to coat, then add onion and garlic. Stir-fry 1 minute, then add the beef and stir-fry 1-2 minutes.
3. Add prepared curry sauce, lime leaves and Coco Rico. Stir well and bring to a gentle boil (if it's too thick, add 2-4 Tbsp. water or stock).
4. Reduce heat to medium-low, so curry is gently simmering. Cover and simmer 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrots and whole cumin seed and continue simmering until carrots are soft enough to pierce with a fork (about 10 - 12 minutes). Add the string beans, Okra, tomatoes and simmer until everything is well cooked (5 more minutes). Finally add steamed taro and potatoes.
5. Reduce heat to low and add the last 1/3 can coconut milk, stirring to incorporate. Taste-test the curry. If not salty or flavorful enough, add a little more fish sauce. If you'd like it sweeter, add a little more sugar, or add more chili if you'd like it spicier. If too salty or too sweet, add a squeeze of lime or lemon juice.
6. Serve with plain Thai Jasmine rice/Sticky rice and enjoy!

                                              GOOD LUCK & ENJOY!