Eggplant Curry with Beef

Nothing confirms my lust for traveling like 21° weather and a ton of wind watching Vimeo videos on a city. The travel bug is biting hard. September feels like so long ago, so I’m itching to get back out there and see the world. I think we’ve nailed down the trip this year, but I need to get some clearance first [new job and all that]. Stay tuned! What travel plans do you have this year?

This curry recipe came straight from a magazine in Thailand. I can’t remember where we were when it was taken. Airport maybe? Coffee shop? Maybe Andrew remembers. Regardless, it was calling my name the second Andrew forward me the photo one night. “Maybe this tonight?” Uh, yes. Happening.

It makes me feel better about the simplistic recipes that I find on the sides of imported Thai curry containers. I always wonder if they’re dumbing things down for our tastebuds, but this recipe is nearly the same [unless of course the magazine is in on the joke..]. The only real change I made was using Massaman curry paste instead of green curry paste. My curry paste stockpile is getting unacceptably low. I refuse to buy it across the street when it could easily warrant a trip out to Fubonn. Having a legit recipe also enticed me to actually buy kaffir lime leaves. I always hoped it didn’t make a difference, but it does. It’s not a mind-altering change, but anyone who eats enough Thai food would notice the new layer of flavor. I guess I didn’t go out of my way to get palm sugar. Brown sugar works just fine. 

Ingredients

• 1lb flank steak, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons curry paste
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 1 eggplant, cubed [mine was about 8″ long]
• 2-3 thai chilies, sliced
• 2-3 kaffir lime leaves, torn
• 1/4 cup sweet basil leaves
• 1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• rice or noodles to serve

Preparation

Preheat your high walled pan on medium heat. When a drop of water sizzles loudly, add the oil. When it starts to shimmer, stir in the curry paste. It will soak up the water and smells fragrant. Add half of the coconut milk and stir the paste around until it changes color. Add the beef, lime leaves, cooking the beef until it’s cooked through. Increase heat and bring the milk to a boil. Add the remaining coconut milk, palm sugar, and fish sauce. When it starts to boil, toss in the eggplant. When the eggplant is done cooking, you’re ready to eat. Depending on these size of your cubes, it’ll take about 10 minutes to cook through. Sprinkle with the basil and chilies before serving.