Panang is a popular classic Thai curry with a rich and luscious peanut sauce over tender beef that is super quick to make. I also share how to make semi-homemade panang curry paste using store-bought red curry paste as a base. An easy, delicious, gluten-free weeknight meal!
Notes
- You can use any curry paste brand that you like. In this video I used Maesri brand. I recommend Maeploy, Aroy D, Maesri and Namjai brands. I don't recommend Thai Kitchen.
How to Ensure Tender Beef
When eating a beef curry or stir-fry, my biggest pet peeve is when the meat is chewy. I hate it. No matter how delicious it is...if the meat it chewy, the dish is ruined in my books. There are a few simple keys to make sure you have tender beef without having to braise it for a long time.- Choose a cut of beef that you would eat as a steak. The assumption being that any beef you will eat as a steak is considered "tender", at least compared to cuts you would need to stew or braise. This is a good rule of thumb for choosing stir-fry beef, which this recipe essentially is. I'm using New York strip in this video (it's a particularly fatty one, which was just a lucky pick at the store!).This does NOT mean it has to be an expensive cut, but if you're choosing the less expensive, leaner steaks, the next two points are very important.
- Slice the meat AGAINST THE GRAIN. If the meat is naturally tender (New York, ribeye, or tenderloin), it's not as big of a deal, but for cuts that are borderline chewy....like flank, or lean sirloin tip, it's very important. You want the shortest meat fibers possible because the longer it is, the harder it is to chew. So pay attention to your steak, look at which direction the meat grain runs, and slice across it.
- Slice meat THINLY. For 2 reasons, one is because the thinner the beef the more tender is it to chew, which is important if you're using leaner, less tender meat. The other reason is that this is a quick-cooking curry, not a long simmering one, so if the meat is thick the flavour will not have time to penetrate the inside. Using meat that is still a little frozen inside makes slicing thinly much easier.
Ingredients
- 10.5 ounces strip steak - very thinly sliced against the grain,(300 grams) (see notes about tender beef above)
- 1½ teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons oil
- 1¼ cups coconut milk - divided: ¾ cup + ½ cup
- 1 recipe panang curry paste - homemade or semi-homemade (recipe follows)
- 10 kaffir lime leaves - 7 roughly torn, 3 finely julienned
- ~1 teaspoon fish sauce - to taste
- 18 grams palm sugar - finely chopped, (1½ tablespoons packed), if using granulated sugar, use 1 tablespoon to start then taste and adjust
- 1 small red bell pepper - thinly julienned for garnish, optional
- jasmine rice - for serving
Semi-Homemade Panang Curry Paste
- 3-4 tablespoons red curry paste - see notes
- ¾ teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
- 1 ½ teaspoons toasted coriander seeds
- 2 tablespoons roasted peanuts - unsalted (if allergic, sub another type of nuts or seeds)
- 1 teaspoon fermented shrimp paste - optional, only if the red curry paste doesn’t already have it
Instructions
For the semi-homemade panang curry paste:
- Grind the cumin and coriander seeds until very fine using a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder.
- Add roasted peanuts and grind until fine.
- Mix the red curry paste and shrimp paste into the ground spice mixture.
For the curry:
- Add 1½ teaspoon fish sauce and the oil to the beef and massage it in with your hands, separating the pieces of beef that are stuck together as you mix.
- In a saute pan or a wok over medium high heat, reduce ¾ cup of coconut milk until thickened and creamy.
- Stir in the curry paste and reduce the heat to medium low.
- Cook the paste for a few minutes, stirring constantly, until the coconut oil separates away from the paste. If the paste sticks to the pan, you can deglaze with a bit of the remaining coconut milk.
- Add the palm sugar and torn kaffir lime leaves and cook for a minute or so until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add the beef and quickly toss it with the curry paste, separating the pieces of beef as much as you can.
- Once the beef is about 50% cooked, add the remaining coconut milk and stir for 30 more seconds or just until the beef is fully cooked. If it looks too dry, you can add a splash of water at this point.
- Stir in the red bell peppers, if using, and turn off the heat.
- Taste and adjust the seasoning with more fish sauce and/or sugar as needed.
- Garnish with julienned kaffir lime leaves and more red peppers as desired.
- Serve with jasmine rice, enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Calories: 1026kcalCarbohydrates: 67gProtein: 43gFat: 67gSaturated Fat: 39gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 0.01gCholesterol: 119mgSodium: 751mgPotassium: 1042mgFiber: 5gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 10099IUVitamin C: 54mgCalcium: 188mgIron: 10mg