If you LOVE Thai food like me – make it at home! Slow Cooker Red Curry Beef

I love curry and I love coconut milk – how can you go wrong with that combo??  I was so happy to find this recipe in my my Williams Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking cookbook.  I can honestly say this turned out VERY close to my favorite dish at my local Thai restaurant – Sumatran beef rendang (slow cooked pot roast).  I’ve made modifications to the recipe (as usual) and those are included in this recipe.  This recipe will serve 6 adults and I served it over Jasmine rice. 

Ingredients

• 2-3 lbs lean beef (you can buy pre-cubed stew meat or cube up your own boneless sirloin)
• Sea salt & freshly ground pepper
• 3 TBSP canola oil
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 6-8 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, top and seeds removed, cut in half, sliced very thin
• 1/2 cup Thai red curry paste
• 2 cans unsweetened coconut milk (I used lite)
• 2 TBSP fish sauce
• 3 TBSP lime juice
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 2 cans sliced bamboo shoots
• 3 TBSP chopped fresh mint

Directions

• Generously season beef with salt & pepper.  Heat canola oil in large skillet over med-high heat.  Saute beef on all sides until browned, working in batches if necessary.  Remove from pan and set aside.
• Saute the onion, garlic, and red pepper in the same pan for 2 minutes.  Add the curry paste and stir until it is fragrant and coats the onion and garlic, about 1 minute. 
• Add 1 can of coconut milk and deglaze the pan using a wooden spoon, scraping up any bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. 
• Stir in the fish sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar and bring to a boil.
• Transfer the beef to the slow cooker and add the coconut mixture.  If it doesn’t just cover the meat, add more coconut milk from the other can until it does.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  With 30 minutes left, add the bamboo shoots.
• Garnish with mint before serving.

I tasted this half way through the cooking time and felt it needed more salt and lime juice.  I always taste my meals halfway through the cooking time to adjust the seasonings. 

Finished product – sorry this was before I got my white plates and bowls 🙂