Tag: beef
Massaman Curry (Instant Pot)
Massaman Curry (Instant Pot)
Massaman curry is a southern Thai curry that uses spices other Thai curries typically don’t use such as cardamom, cloves, cumin, nutmeg, and cinnamon. This is from an Indian and Malay influence on this dish. In Malaysian, masam translates into “sour,” hence the use of tamarind. This curry is coconut milk based, usually containing beef, potato, onion, and peanuts.While there are a lot of ingredients to make this curry paste, it is much better than any store bought for a fraction of the price. The easiest way is to make the paste is in a blender or a food processor. Store the curry paste in the refrigerator for up to a week. Anything that won’t be used in that time frame should be frozen.When choosing the beef for the curry, you want to use something that is good for braising since this dish takes some time to cook. Chuck works the best, but you can use bottom round, short rib, or shank meat.You can still make this recipe if you don’t have an Instant Pot, but cooking the beef until tender will take longer. Sear the beef in a dutch oven, then place in a 300 degree preheated oven for 2 hours. After the beef is done cooking, remove from the dutch oven. Drain any remaining grease from the dutch oven. On medium heat, deglaze the dutch oven with 1 cup of the coconut milk, scraping up any brown bits. Add the curry paste and cook for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on medium low heat for 1 hour.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Massaman Curry Paste
- 2 tsp coriander seeds
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp white peppercorns
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp cardamom
- 1 1/4 cup dried red chilies
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup shallots
- 1/3 cup lemongrass
- 1/4 cup galangal
- 1/4 cup cilantro roots
- 1/4 cup garlic cloves
- 2 tsp fermented shrimp paste
Massaman Curry
- 1 1/2 – 2 lbs beef chuck roast 1″ cubes
- 2 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
- 3 cups coconut milk
- 6 tbsp massaman curry paste
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 tbsp palm sugar
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 2 medium potatoes 1″ cubes
- 1 small onion diced
- 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
- roasted peanuts crushed
Instructions
Massaman Curry Paste
- Assemble the curry paste ingredients. In a spice grinder, grind the coriander, cumin, and white peppercorns together. Add them together with the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt. Grind the dried red chilies in the spice grinder. Set them aside.
- In a food processor or blender, add all curry paste ingredients.
- Blend until a paste is formed. You might have to add up to a 1/4 cup of water if the paste is too dry. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the blender to make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated.
- Store in a container for up to a week in the refrigerator. Freeze anything else that won’t be used. You should yield enough paste to make 3 batches of my massaman curry recipe.
Massaman Curry
- Set your Instant Pot to the Sauté function on high. Add the cooking oil. Add in the cubed chunks of chuck.
- Brown the beef on all sides. Remove from the pot.
- Turn the heat to medium. Deglaze the pot with 1 cup of the coconut milk, scraping up any brown bits. Add 6 tbsp of the curry paste. Let cook or 2 minutes.
- Add in the rest of the coconut milk, palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind paste, and the cooked beef. Put the cover on the Instant Pot. Set the function to Pressure Cooker on high for 30 minutes.
- After the 30 minutes is up, release the pressure. Turn the function to Sauté on medium heat. Add in the potatoes, onions, and peanuts. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. If the sauce gets to thick, add in a little bit of water.
- Serve with steamed rice. Garnish with crushed peanuts and chopped cilantro.
Carne Asada
Carne Asada
Carne Asada refers to grilled meat. There are countless types of marinades that you can make for this dish. Carne asada varies quite a bit from region to region in Mexico,so it’s really just personal preference. Lime juice or sour orange juice(which isn’t easily available in my hood) are typically used in the marinade. The acidity of citrus is a natural tenderizer to meat. Some people will use beer in their marinade. I used some soy sauce for a little saltiness, along with garlic and onion, because they’re my favorite aromatics to use in everything. When picking out meat, I recommend using either flank or skirt steak. They both take marinades well and are already fairly thin cuts, allowing them to cook faster. Top sirloin is a good substitute that’s still inexpensive. If you want more of a higher end cut, ribeye or NY strip will work great. Make sure they are no more than 3/4″ thick.Carne Asada is traditionally grilled over wood or charcoal. Grilling this way will give it a nice char and smokey flavor. The steak will take about 6 minutes a side for medium rare. If you don’t have a grill like myself, you can prepare it on a grill pan on your stove top or under the broiler like I did. The steak will take 8 minutes a side for medium rare. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing. Slice the steak against the grain, thinly.I turned my carne asada into tacos with a homemade Serrano pepper hot sauce, real Mexican sour cream, and my cilantro/onion/green onion mix.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb flank steak or skirt steak top sirloin, ribeye, ny strip will also work
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- juice of a lime
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/4 medium onion sliced
- 1 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- There are a couple of options you can use for the beef. Flank steak or skirt steak are great options. They are already fairly thin cuts that absorb marinade well and take minimal time to cook. Top sirloin, ribeye, NY strip, flat iron, and hangar steaks are all acceptable substitutes. I am using a flank steak.
- Mix the soy sauce, lime juice, minced garlic, onion, and black pepper together.
- Pour the marinade over the meat. Let the flank marinate for a couple of hours. Overnight is even better.
- There are a couple different ways you can cook this. A charcoal grill works the best and gives it the best flavor. You can cook this on a grill pan on the stove top. I decided to use my broiler. Regardless of how you cook the meat, let it rest at room temperature for 30 minutes before cooking.
- Preheat your broiler for a good 10 minutes. Set your oven rack 6 inches away. Put the flank on a rack on a foil covered baking sheet. Broil the flank steak for 8 minutes a side. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.
- Once the flank is done resting, slice it thin against the grain.
- Carne Asada can be served with some beans and rice with some avocado. Or you can turn it into tacos like I did with; topped off with homemade Serrano pepper hot sauce, real Mexican sour cream, and cilantro/onion/green onion mix.
Beef Bulgogi Rice Bowl
Beef Bulgogi Rice Bowl
This is another great way to eat beef bulgogi. Most asian grocery stores have pre packed thinly sliced beef for bulgogi in their freezer section. They typically will use NY strip or ribeye. Top sirloin and flank steak will work as well. I would recommend not using any cuts less tender than these. The bulgogi tastes the best when you let the meat marinate overnight. But if you are in a rush, a couple of hours will do.You can use pretty much whatever vegetable you’d like. I wanted to us up some button mushrooms I purchased. More carrots, bean sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, would all work well with this.Serve this over steamed rice. This would also be great over rice noodles or in a lettuce wrap with a little bit of soy bean paste and a perilla leaf. BULGOGI!
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Bulgogi Marinade
- 3 tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp rice cooking wine
- 2 tbsp garlic
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup grated pear
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
Bulgogi Meat
- 1 1/2 lbs thinly slice strip, ribeye, or top sirloin
- 3 green onions chopped
- 1/2 medium onion thinly sliced
- 1 small carrot julienned
Other Vegetables
- 4 oz mushrooms sliced
Garnish
- toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix all marinade ingredients together.
- Add the sliced beef, green onion, onion, and carrot to the marinade. Mix thoroughly, making sure that the meat is marinated on each side. Let marinade for 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- When ready to use, let meat sit out at room temp for 30 minutes.
- In a large skillet or wok over high heat, add 2 tbsp of cooking oil. Add the mushrooms and beef bulgogi. Stir fry for 4-5 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Drizzle 1 tbsp of sesame oil over the beef and mix.
- Serve the beef bulgogi stir fry over steamed rice. Garnish with more toasted sesame seeds.
