Monday, May 27, 2013

Thai Panang Curry with Beef and Tofu


Being a Malaysian I love food that are spicy and will strong flavors and curry is one of them. I must have them at least once a week if not I will crave for it. I like making most curry paste from scratch if I can find the time and ingredients but if I am crunching for time I will just use the readymade paste. One of my favorite brands is Mea Ploy and it is from Thailand. I will usually keep a tub of it in my fridge so I can use it if I want to cook something quick. They do have a few types of curry paste but I prefer their Panang curry. They are really good and with great flavors. I used beef this time and they do take bit of time to cook them but if you prefer chicken you can always use it. This dish is great to be serve with some savory rice.



Ingredients:

1 block of firm tofu – cut into 1” cubes
1 pound of beef – I used flank steak – sliced thinly
1 red pepper – cut into 1” square
1 medium size carrot – cut small
½ cup green peas
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
4 tbsp panang curry paste
1 small onion – diced small
3 cloves garlic - chopped


Seasonings:

3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

1. Pan fried the tofu on both sides until lightly brown and set it aside.
2. Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a sauté pan and add in the onion and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant and lightly brown. Add in the curry paste. Continue to stir fry until fragrant and add in half a cup of the coconut milk.
3. Continue to cook until you see the coconut milk begin to evaporate. Add in the beef, turn and toss it around the curry paste for 2 minutes.
4. Add in about 2 cups of water, kaffir lime leaves bring it up to boil and cover and let it simmer until the meat is tender.
5. Add in the red pepper, carrot, tofu, the rest of the coconut milk and seasonings. Continue to cook until the carrot and pepper are soft. Lastly add in the green pea. Bring it up to boil and turn off the heat. Check seasonings.
6. Serve with warm rice.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

hi,,your curry is great,,i first time cook,
may i know what is panang curry paste,any subsitute,ps share with me..thank u so much,,
nigela --- sg

QembarDelites said...

I too love curries but dare not take too often for fear of constipation lol! That dish of yours certainly looks delicious! Now I am craving for some curry!

Medeja- CranberryJam said...

Oh, it is one of my dreams to visit Malaysia sometime and to try such flavorful food!

PH said...

Gertrude, I love curries too. Thai curries are very flavourful and they make me eat more rice :)

Sharon D. said...

Mmm..yum stuff. This looks amazing. I love the idea of tofu in curries :)

Sokehah cheah said...

The curry looks yummy, nice vibrant colour!

Shereen said...

I have never try the Mae Ploy brand curries. I seldom use store bought paste so I never remember to look for them on my shopping trips. Must do so one of these days:)

ann low said...

Never heard of panang curry before but it sure looks very delicious. Definitely good with extra rice.

Yoong said...

Gert, I use the Mae Ploy brand and especially like their green curry paste - very nice.

Esther Lau said...

First time I heard about panang curry. Wish I can try some :)

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I cook curry very often too, use store bought curry paste is quick and still resulted good taste, why not use it?

ICook4Fun said...

Nigela, panag curry paste is very similar to our red curry paste. You can google for the paste recipe online or maybe check out the supermarket as they might sell it.

Jeannie, I love my curries and have no problem having it ha ha..

Medeja, I hope you get to visit my beautiful country one day. You will love our culture, food and people there :)

Phong Hong, ya I saw you post a lot of curries recipe in your blog :)

Sharon, thank you.

Cheah, thanks

Shereen, you know now hardly have any time to cook so ready paste is very handy for me to cook something quick.

Ann, yes I love putting lots of gravy in my rice :)

Yoong, I like their green curry paste too.

Esther, come over and I can cook some for you :)

Sonia, I always have some store bought paste in my pantry. I will be handy when I want to cook something quick :)