Massaman beef curry

Massaman beef curry.

My ongoing project to perfect my favorite restaurant dishes is going along swimmingly!

My third attempt at making massaman curry was quite an improvement over the previous attempts.

I have discovered that fresh spices can make a world of difference.

Left to right: Red curry paste, cinnamon sticks, fresh green cardamon pods.

While I was able to find the green cardamon pods at a teeny tiny Indian market just round the corner, I could not find whole star anise anywhere. Oh, well I can just use the search for star anise as a nice excuse for exploring more local markets:-)

On to to the recipe:

Massaman beef curry 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs of beef stew meat
1 14oz can of light coconut milk
1 cup of water
2 small shallots, chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 yellow onion, quartered
1 Tbsp of fish sauce
1 tsp of brown sugar
1/2 Tbsp of tamarind paste
3 Tbsp of massaman curry paste
1/2 tsp of red thai curry paste
2 cinnamon sticks
5 green cardamon pods
5 basil leaves
1 Tbsp of peanut oil

Instructions:

Combine the cubed beef with the 3 Tbsp of massaman curry and set aside.

Add oil to the pan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add in the cardamon pods, cinnamon sticks and red curry paste. Fry for about 2 minutes until the spices become aromatic.

Add in the chopped shallots and onion and allow to cook for another 2 minutes or until the onions are golden brown. 

Toss in the beef and curry mixture and cook for another 5 minutes. Then add in the rest of the ingredients and allow to simmer for 25 - 30 minutes. The curry is done when the potatoes and carrots are fork tender.

Enjoy!


 

Chicken salad with coconut and apples

I have been craving a chicken salad sandwich lately.

This morning I was thinking about it and realized all of the recipes I could think of were too high in fat and/or had dairy which does not fit into my current eating plan.

Since I didn't feel like cereal or other traditional breakfast fare I made the chicken salad sandwich for breakfast.

I started by simmering cubed pieces of chicken breast in a bath of lite coconut milk, soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, powdered garlic and some chopped fresh cilantro.


No amounts provided because this is a recipe in progress and this is just the first attempt.


I let the chicken simmer until it was cooked through and then I chopped it into small pieces.

And 1/2 of an apple.

All mixed together.

Then I toasted up a couple of the sandwich thins and piled the chicken mixture on top. 


I was going to eat this like a regular sandwich but I ended up with more filling than expected so it became two open faced sandwiches.

There was still some braising/stewing liquid in the saute pan so I whisked it smooth and spooned it over the filling.

I wish the sauce had turned out a lighter color - more like a traditional chicken salad sauce but it still tasted great.


And I also had a non-traditional breakfast drink - I made hot tea and then later added some lemonade.

I am off to (hopefully) have a very non-traditional day!