Name: Red Curry Beef, Thai Style
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 2½ pound bottom round roast (cut into 1-inch cubes); 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt; 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; olive oil; 1 cup heaping finely diced yellow onion; 4 cloves fresh garlic (minced); 1/4 heaping cup Thai red curry paste; 1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk; 1 (15 ounce) can regular unsweetened coconut Milk; 2 tablespoons fish sauce; 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar; 2 tablespoons lime juice; 8 ounces bamboo shoots (drained)

This is a one-pot gem of a recipe that has a special spot in my recipe repertoire.

Thai red curry beef is simply a simple stew of sorts that isn’t gussied up with a ton of different vegetables, which WORTH KEEPING, and the sauce couldn’t be any more satisfying. The red curry sauce is built layer by layer starting with the caramelized browned bits from browning the cubed roast, then in goes the always trusty onion-garlic combination and after that it’s the red curry paste, coconut milk and so on.

So I hate to do it but I have to break the bad news to you, this is not a 3o-minute meal.

You will also have to endure significant torture of inhaling its intoxicating aroma as it bubbles away on the stove for hours, only to store it in the fridge overnight. I’ll explain more on that a little later. The good news? There isn’t a long list of ingredients and it’s pretty darn straightforward to whip up. And I kid you not; I feasted on this for lunch for several days afterwards and it tasted better and better each day.

This bowl of goodness is nothing short of standout.

To cook this Thai red beef curry Set out:

bottom round roast, cut into 1-inch cubes
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
yellow onion
fresh garlic
Thai red curry paste
lite coconut milk
regular unsweetened coconut milk
fish sauce
dark brown sugar
juice of 1 lime (or about 2 tablespoons)
bamboo shoots

The more prep you get done and out of the way the better. So start this party off with dicing up 1 heaping cup of yellow onions.

Mince the heck out of 4 cloves of fresh garlic.

Measure a heaping quarter cup of Thai red curry paste.

You will also need two tablespoons fish sauce.

Along with the juice of a big fat lime or 2 tablespoons.

Two tablespoons of dark brown sugar.

And two cans of coconut milk; one light and one regular.

Lots of two’s in this dish.

Once all that chopping, measuring and prep work is done and out of the way it’s time to work on the roast. I took this 2-1/2 pound bottom round roast out of the fridge about 30 minutes prior.

Why bottom round? Well I’ve become friends with the employees at my grocery store and well, once I asked the butcher “what’s the dependable meat for cooking in stews for long periods of time?”… he told me bottom round. He’s right on.

Cut it width-wise into 1 inch hunks…

Pull the thin layer of fat off each piece…

… then cut the roast into 1 inch cubes.

Toss into a bowl with 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and coarse black pepper.

Toss to coat evenly.

Add 1 tablespoon of light olive oil into a large Dutch oven and heat over medium-high.

Working in batches sear all sides of the beef for 2 to 3 minutes…

…or until beautifully browned.

Transfer the glorious beef to a clean dish and repeat until the entire bowl of cubed roast has been browned.

To the remaining fat in the pot, add the diced onion.

Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the onions are soft.

Add in the fresh garlic and cook for a minute.

Add in the red curry paste…

Stir it into the onions, scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot and cooking until fragrant.

Pour in the light coconut milk…

…then the regular coconut milk…

Lastly pour in 2 tablespoons fish sauce.

The 2 tablespoons lime juice.

Lastly, add 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar.

Stir, add the browned roast back in, bring to a bubble and reduce the heat to low…

Cover and simmer for 2-1/2 hours or until the beef is fork tender.

Once the Thai beef curry is cooked, pour it into a heat-safe container. Use a large spoon and skim 90 percent of the fat off of the top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. I know this seems like such a pain… but the ingredients in the sauce with meld even more so, intensifying and making it even more luscious.

What IF by some reason you cannot wait?

Add in the drained bamboo shoots, kill the heat allowing the sauce to cool a bit so the sauce will thicken and also so you are able to skim off the fat that rises to the top. It’s still flavorful, but I prefer to wait until the next day where it is positively to die for.

Reheat in a large saucepan until bubbly and serve the Thai Red Curry Beef over jasmine rice with torn fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

I have no words to express how unbelievably flavor-packed this Thai Red Curry Beef is. I ate this by the forkful, scooped some onto kitchen-made naan and devoured it. Maybe I moaned and sighed (out loud) with joy after every single tasty bite. Maybe.