Peggy Lampman's Thursday dinnerFeed: Thai coconut curried beef with colorful peppers

Thai Curried Beef with Colorful Peppers

Peggy Lampman | Contributor

Gotta get to work? Don't forget to get your Thai on! Compared to most Thai-inspired recipes, this is quite simple, accommodating your Thursday night collapse. I adore Thai food and make it, cutting corners when necessary, whenever I have the craving.

I'm also cutting calories using "lite" coconut milk. I must admit I prefer the flavor, thickness and richness of a "full fat" coconut milk; I'll console myself with the caloric savings.

Red curry paste is a combination of red chili peppers, galangal, keffir lime and other Thai spices. I added an additional teaspoon of galangal to the sauce but didn't include it in the recipe; the seasoning may be hard to find. Red curry paste is available at most groceries with a good Asian section.

This is wonderful served with cellophane noodles or rice; I served this with a Thai heirloom whole grain jasmine rice, which I've purchased before at the People's Co-op and Whole Foods.

The pre-packs of three assorted bell peppers are reasonably priced and dictated a portion of the recipe.

Yield: 4 serving
Time: 25 minutes
Cost: Approx. $13

Ingredients

2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 pound beef sirloin or round, cut into thin 2-inch long strips
1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
3 assorted colored peppers, seeds and membranes removed, thinly sliced lengthwise
1-3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
1 cup packed fresh basil leaves (Thai basil if available)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Directions

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat. Season sliced beef with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Cooking in batches if necessary, sear beef 1 minute on each side, taking care not to overcook beef (it will have additional cooking time.)
2. Reduce heat to low and add onion and peppers, with a pinch of kosher salt. Cook, stirring, until veggies are crisp tender, about 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon curry paste, and cook, scraping bottom of skillet, 1 minute.
3. Return beef to skillet, with accumulated juces and stir in coconut milk. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in basil and lime juice and additional curry sauce to taste.

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Cook noodles accoring to pack instructions--toss curry with noodles and serve.