Thai Curried Beef Stew

A taste of Thailand! A very yummy curried stew for a chilly fall day. I used a food processor to make the curry and found all of the ingredients I needed from the Lotus store in the Strip. Pedro and I made a special trip down this morning in the rain. I served the stew over rice noodles for a filling one-pot meal. Definitely not a quick meal - the curry paste alone took over an hour... But very, very worth it.

Thanks for another great recipe Bon Appetit! http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/curried-beef-stew

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 4

Curry Paste

• 6 dried puya or 3 dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 1 lemongrass stalk, bottom 4' only, tough outer layer removed, cut into 1' pieces
• 2 tablespoons sliced peeled fresh galangal 
• 2 tablespoons sliced peeled fresh turmeric 
• 1/2 cup chopped shallots
• 1/4 cup halved garlic cloves 
• 1 tablespoon Thai shrimp paste

Stew

• 2 pounds trimmed beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2'–2' cubes 
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably Thai thin soy sauce (such as Healthy Boy)
• 2 tablespoons ground dried Thai chiles
• 9 cups beef broth, preferably low-salt
• 1 cup halved shallots
• 3 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/4'-thick half-moons (about 1 cup)
• 6 fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves
• Chopped fresh cilantro 
• Thinly sliced Thai basil

Preparation

Curry Paste 

• In a mortar, pound chiles and salt with a pestle until pulverized, about 5 minutes. Add ingredients one by one in order listed, fully pulverizing each before adding the next, about 15 minutes total. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 week ahead; cover and chill.

Stew

• Combine curry paste, beef, soy sauce, and ground dried chiles in a pot; stir to evenly coat beef. Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender but not falling apart, 2–2 1/2 hours
• Stir in shallots, carrots, and lime leaves. Simmer until vegetables are just tender, about 10 minutes. If broth is too salty, add water a few tablespoonfuls at a time. 
• Garnish with cilantro and basil.