Beef Curry

Tonight I made a very easy, fast, and delicious beef curry.

Growing up, curry was pretty much a mainstay in our household, and even when not at home, we enjoyed it at the various restaurants we frequented in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and other parts of Asia.

The kind of curry which I grew up eating, and that Mum used to always make, is considered a "Malay" curry, the distinguishing fact is the use of coconut cream and milk.

Curry is one of those dishes which you can make a "chop suey" or left-overs, and add to the curry and it'll come out delicious.

I like to use a lot more vegetables than meat just because I prefer the flavour, but you can adjust to your own taste.

Ingredients:

1lb stewing beef
2 cans (cooked) beef chunks in water, reserve the water
3 TBSP Garam Masala curry powder
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 (large) TBSP ginger sauce (recipe below)
2 onions, diced
1 head cauliflower, cut the florets and then skin the stem and dice
3 cups frozen spinach
1 can yams (or sweet potatoes), drained
1 can coconut milk
2 TBSP dried curry leaves
Salt to taste (Optional - I did not use any as I did not feel it needed it)


Method:

1. Cook raw beef until well cooked, add the canned beef; fry in the onions, garlic, and ginger until well combined.
2. Add 3TBSP of reserved beef water to the curry powder and blend well, add to the beef mixture and stir well. Add the rest of the beef water.
3. Let simmer for about 5 minutes and then add the coconut milk, mix well.
4. Add cauliflower, spinach, yams, and curry leaves. Mix well and let simmer for about 10 minutes, or until cauliflower is cooked through but not mushy. Stir occasionally to ensure that it does not start to burn on the bottom.

Serve with steamed Jasmine or Basmati rice

Ginger Sauce:

2" piece ginger
1 TBSP light sesame oil
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 stalk green onion, very thinly sliced
Salt to taste

In a grinder (I use my Magic Bullet blender), blend together the ginger and oils until ginger is well ground. You can also use a mortar and pestal. Add salt and onions, blend slightly (just to mix).

Leave in fridge overnight (can be kept in fridge for about 2 months), the longer left, the more the flavour infuses. I use this for many dishes, mainly it is used for Hainan Chicken Rice or steamed chicken or just over rice with a fried egg.