Thai style Beef Curry

Thai style Beef Curry

I can't pretend that this is an authentic curry recipe I brought back from Thailand because I've never been, but it's a very tasty curry that easy to make. It cheats slightly by using some bought paste, but there are also lots of fresh ingredients to liven it up and it definately tastes home-made - it always goes down a treat when I make it for friends. You don't need anything fancy to go with it - just serve with rice.
The amounts here should serve 4, so just up them if you're feeding more.

What you'll need:

• 600-700g beef - casserole steak or any other lean piece is fine
• 2 medium sized peppers - your choice of colour
• roughly 60g each or a mixed pack of mange tout & baby corn
• 8 spring onions
• handful of unsalted cashew nuts
• a peach stone sized piece of fresh ginger
• 1-2 red chillies (this is assuming the supermarket sort which are quite mild - adjust according to how hot you want it / how hot your chillies are!)
• 1 fresh lime
• 1-2 tins coconut milk
• 1and half - 2 tbsp red thai curry paste - I recommend buying a tub of  'Thai Taste' as it lasts months in the fridge 
• ground nut oil is great for this but olive oil is fine too

Ingredients note:
Beef: don't worry about buying really expensive cuts; as it cooks for quite a long time in the coconut milk it should become lovely and tender.
Coconut milk: some brands, even the more expensive ones, are quite thin and watery so you may need 2 cans. Conversely, I've found quite a cheap one which is really lovely and thick and have to add half a can of water again. You won't know until you try a few different brands, but there'll be more guidance further down in the recipe.

Get it all prepared:

• peel the skin from the ginger and remove the seeds and white stuff from inside the chillies then finely chop both
• remove the hairy end, outer skin and half the green leafy bit from the spring onions and sliced thinly into small rounds
• core and de-seed the peppers and slice into decent sized pieces
• cut the mange tout and baby corn in half width ways
• remove any fat from the beef then cut into strips or chunks - your choice

Music on, pour a drink and cook:

I recommend a large, deep pan, preferably non-stick.

• heat a slug of oil in the pan, on a low heat
• add the chillies, ginger and spring onions and fry gently for 2-3 mins until they're soft. If they start to darken in colour, the heat is too high
• turn the heat up a bit and add the beef, frying for 3-4 mins until it's slightly coloured
• Add your curry paste - 1 tbsp will be milder, 2 quite hot (all depending on the brand you use, however!) - and stir in for 2 mins until all coated
• Add the veggies and cook for 2 mins
• Now add the coconut milk. As brands vary so much in thickness, I can only guide here. If the consistency is like that of ordinary milk, go for 1 and half - 2 tins. If it is fairly thick, see how you go with one tin, perhaps adding a little water later. If really thick, fill the empty can up half again with water and add now. The most important thing is that all the ingredients are covered.
• Add a teaspoon of sugar and a little salt here and turn up the heat until simmering.
• Toast your cashew nuts gently in a dry frying pan over a medium heat then set aside to add 5 mins from the end.
• You're now going to leave it simmering for about 45-50 mins, stirring and checking the liquid occasionally. It will seem quite thin at first but after about 40 mins you should notice it thickening. If it reduces too much, add a little water.
• Is it ready? You can taste a piece of beef - it should be lovely and tender. The sauce should be thickened and silky looking. When you think it's there, add the cashews and a squeeze of fresh lime juice and simmer for a final few minutes.

Enjoy!