Thai Yellow Curry with Beef and Potatoes Recipe (Kaeng Karii)

Thai Yellow Curry with Beef and Potatoes Recipe (Kaeng Karii) - Viet World Kitchen window.fbAsyncInit = function() { FB.init( { apiKey: 'a279adbe87e2b3c505e777af99a5260d', xfbml: true } );};( function() { var e = document.createElement( 'script' ); e.async = true; e.src = document.location.protocol + '//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js'; document.getElementById( 'fb-root' ).appendChild( e );} )();Viet World Kitchen Home Asian Dumplings Asian TofuRecipe IndexEventsFav SitesAbout MePermission+Credit Welcome! Join me to explore, create, and contribute to the culinary traditions of Asia.

Andrea Nguyen
Author & Teacher
Send a message

My Books + App
Book trailer, info on ebook w/ video, sample content
BUY NOW @ Amazon, B&N, iBooks, IndieBound, J. Biscuit & local bookstores
* * *

Details on eBooklet, how & where to buy
* * *

BUY NOW @ Amazon, B&N, iBooks, IndieBound, J. Biscuit & local bookstores
* * *

Info on e-book w/ videos!
BUY NOW @ Amazon, B&N, iBooks, IndieBound, J. Biscuit & local bookstores
* * *

The mobile app is here!
BUY NOW @ iTunes store

« Thai Yellow Curry Paste Recipe |Main| My Q&A with 5th Graders »

October 03, 2013Thai Yellow Curry with Beef and Potatoes Recipe (Kaeng Karii)

Over the weekend, I used Pok Pok chef/owner Andy Ricker’s recipe for Thai beefand potato yellow curry in the October issue of Saveur magazine.  I’d spentquite some time making his Thai yellow curry paste so I wanted to use the curryand see what else I could glean from his recipes.

First off, I’d somehow assumed that yellow curry was onlyfor chicken (Viet folks make similar kinds of yellow curry with chicken andpotato) but Ricker prescribed beef and a long simmering in unseasoned coconutmilk. I was curious about the pairing of beef in a Southeast Asian curry.Perhaps it would lend depth to the mellow yellow curry paste?

Cooking the beefin coconut milk reminded me of how Italian bolognese sauce requires simmeringground meat in milk and white wine. The result would no doubt be rich, despitethe small amount of meat involved. Smart low-meat cooking.

Another thing that intrigued me about Ricker’s recipe wasthe notion of “cracking” coconut cream (what you get at the top when thecontainer of coconut milk is left to sit for 1 or 2 days). That is, the thickcoconut cream is cooked until the solids disappeared and the oil remained. Thena good cup of the paste went into the pot and fried. Yes, a cup of paste seemedlike a heck of a lot but I’d tasted the paste and it was not frighteninglystrong. (Maybe the stuff from the stores are made to be extra strong?)

Red and yukon gold potatoes, coconut cream scooped from the can, and beefy goodness ready to go
Crackingand frying the curry paste made sense. A number of Malaysian and Indonesian seasoningpastes are often fried to meld flavors before the protein and liquid are added.And, using the natural sweet nuttiness of coconut oil ties the entire dishtogether, kind of like rendering chicken fat for a chicken and rice claypot.

Ricker also called for adding water to second simmering. Hiscurry promised to be lighter, runnier than what you’d normally get at Thairestaurants. Runny curries are what I remember from eating in Chiang Mai in theearly 1990s. We sat down at a market curry stall, pointed to a couple of curry potsand the vendor dished it up on tin plates. At room temperature, the curry wasethereal tasting, not thick and creamy. You tasted the curry paste’s nuancedflavors and it didn’t weigh you down.

Okay canned palm sugar, homemade curry paste, and "cracked" coconut cream
I always let my curries rest before serving. With the Thaiyellow curry, we ate it in a near-tepid state with rice, boiled grean beans andsome sliced cucumber for refreshing crunch; I also made canh, a clear Vietquick soup.  

A batch of this curry yielded about 8 servings and afterreading Austin Bush’s piece on kaengkarii, I added a side of chiles and soy sauce to subsequent meals of Thaiyellow curry. We mixed them into the rice and curry at the table for spiritedheat and savory depth. As with stews, this curry tastes better as it ages.

So how was the curry over all? It was excellent, full ofcomplexity yet well balanced enough to be elegant. The beef imparted gravitas.Thumbs up on the DIY Thai yellow curry paste and this curry. I now  have a cup of yellow curry paste left in thefridge for another run, maybe with chicken and potatoes. Ricker's Thai cookbook coming out soon and judging from this little curry experiment, good things are bound to come from from the publication.

Note that I used a canned coconut palm sugar that I had toscrape with a fork; it was okay stuff but very compact so use a little lessthan what’s called for or the curry may be on the sweet side.

RECIPE

Thai Yellow Currywith Beef and Potatoes

Yield: 8 servings,with 2 or 3 other dishes

Ingredients:

Two 13.5 oz / 390 ml cans coconut milk (3 1/3 cups / 810 ml total)1 1/2 pounds beef chuck1 cup Thai Yellow Curry Paste, at room temperature 3 medium regular shallots, or 10 small red Asian shallots3 large Yukon gold, red, or white potatoes2 tablespoons grated palm sugar or light brown sugar1 tablespoon fish sauceCooked jasmine rice, for serving2 or 3 sliced Thai, serrano, jalapeno, or Fresno chiles, for servingRegular soy sauce, for serving

Instructions:

Use a spoon to skim off 1 cup of the thicker coconut cream floating at the top of the can. Set aside. Pour the remaining coconut milk into a 4-quart (1 L) pot. Trimmed and cut the beef into thick strips, each about 2 inches (5 cm) long and 1/2 inch (1.25 cm). Add to the pot. The beef should be covered. Add water, if not. Bring to simmer over medium heat, then cook for about 1 hour, occasionally stirring, until tender. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beef to a bowl and cover to keep warm. Measure out 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) of coconut milk and set aside. Save extra for another use.*Pour the reserved coconut cream into a 5 or 6-quart (1.25 or 1.5 L) pot. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, until the oil separates and there’s little of the white solids that remain. Some golden bits are fine.Add the curry paste, then cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until slightly darkened and fragrant. Add the reserved coconut milk and 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil before adding the beef, shallot, and potatoes. Lower the heat to gently simmer for about 40 minutes,  until the potatoes are tender. Stir in the sugar and fish sauce. Turn off the heat and let the curry rest and cool for about 20 minutes before serving with the rice. If there's too much oil/fat at the top, skim some off; refrigerating overnight will make the job easier. Offer sliced chiles and soy sauce to guests to add to their curry. Enjoy this Thai style, on a plate with fork and spoon.

*Employ the extra beefy coconut milk to moisten a vegetable stir-fryor enrich soup. It’ll keep for days in the fridge.

Related posts andlinks:

Thai Yellow Curry Paste recipeLeela at She Simmers delves into Thai yellow curry, clarifying what the term means and includes a link to her recipeBangkok-based photographer Austin Bush gives a quick lowdown on the Thai capitol’s best spots for kaeng karii, as well as the differences between Chinese and Muslim renditionsPosted | Permalink

| | |

Comments Thai Yellow Curry with Beef and Potatoes Recipe (Kaeng Karii)

Over the weekend, I used Pok Pok chef/owner Andy Ricker’s recipe for Thai beefand potato yellow curry in the October issue of Saveur magazine.  I’d spentquite some time making his Thai yellow curry paste so I wanted to use the curryand see what else I could glean from his recipes.

First off, I’d somehow assumed that yellow curry was onlyfor chicken (Viet folks make similar kinds of yellow curry with chicken andpotato) but Ricker prescribed beef and a long simmering in unseasoned coconutmilk. I was curious about the pairing of beef in a Southeast Asian curry.Perhaps it would lend depth to the mellow yellow curry paste?

Cooking the beefin coconut milk reminded me of how Italian bolognese sauce requires simmeringground meat in milk and white wine. The result would no doubt be rich, despitethe small amount of meat involved. Smart low-meat cooking.

Stay Connected                         Asian Tofu in the News"Informative, engaging, well written and researched, this is also the best book about tofu."
— Winnie Yang, The Art of Eating

"A whole cookbook devoted to tofu? Yes, please."
— Kate Williams, Serious Eats 2012 Favorite Cookbooks

"Cooking with Tofu (Are You Serious?!)"
— Michael Rulhman on his tofu conversion

Book info, reviews, radio & TV . . .Classes & EventsHands-on @loveapplefarms, Santa Cruz
Sun, Oct 6, 12-4pm: Asian Dumplings
Sat, Oct 26, 12-4pm: Into the Vietnamese Kitchen
Sat, Nov 2, 12-4:30pm: Pho Workshop

Hands-on @SFCooking, San Francisco
Fri, Oct 18, 5:30-10:30pm: Asian Dumplings [date night!]
Sat, Oct 19, 10am-3pm: Asian Dumplings {waitlist only}

new TWTR.Widget({ version: 2, type: 'profile', rpp: 3, interval: 30000, width: 'auto', height: 300, theme: { shell: { background: '#8f1414', color: '#ffffff' }, tweets: { background: '#ffffff', color: '#756875', links: '#8f1414' } }, features: { scrollbar: false, loop: false, live: false, behavior: 'all' }}).render().setUser('aqnguyen').start();Recent PostsOld School Sweet and Sour Pork RecipeMy Q&A with 5th GradersThai Yellow Curry with Beef and Potatoes Recipe (Kaeng Karii)Thai Yellow Curry Paste RecipeVWK Leftovers: September 2013Homemade Mirin RecipeTrue Chicken Teriyaki RecipeJapanese Pickled Ginger (Gari) RecipeMaking Crazy Delicious Banh Mi PhotosAbandon Your Fears of Frying: Deep-Fry TipsCopyright 2002-2013 by Andrea Nguyen | Privacy Policy

document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src='" + (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? "https://sb" : "http://b") + ".scorecardresearch.com/beacon.js'%3E%3C/script%3E"));COMSCORE.beacon({ c1: 2, c2: "6035669", c3: "", c4: "http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2013/10/thai-yellow-curry-with-beef-and-potatoes-recipe-kaeng-karii.html", c5: "", c6: "", c15: ""});

View the original article here

Khao Karii Nang Loeng/ข้าวกะหรี่นางเลิ้ง

Kaeng karee (?????????) generally refers to a mild Chinese-style curry served with thin slices of tender pork or crunchy beef tendon. It’s not nearly as complex or spicy as a typical Thai curry and is one of only a handful of Thai dishes that include bottled curry powder.

Ideal Map’s Good Eats Rattanakosin map (see details here) led me to this open-air shophouse near Nang Loeng Market that turned out to do one of the better plates of kaeng karee I’ve come across in Bangkok.

The kaeng karee muu, pork curry (pictured above,) here is spicier than average, but as is the standard, comes served with slices of deep-fried kun chiang, Chinese-style pork sausage, a few slices of cucumber and sliced chilies.

They also do a similar satoo lin muu, a stew of pork tongue, served the same way.

For more places to eat kaeng karii, including a couple places that do the similarly-named but Muslim-influenced dish, check out this article I did for CNNGo.

Khao Karii Nang Loeng
Th Suphaminit, Bangkok
02 282 3918
8am-2pm

View Thai Eats in a larger map

View the original article here

The "Indo Karii" at Nakamuraya in Shinjuku, Tokyo plus the three degrees of curry hotness

One more about curry! Since some of you asked for this, here’s how to figure out which level of hotness a curry mix is, if you get one that has Japanese packaging. You’ll also get to learn a few kanji characters!

This is amakuchi or “mild”. It literally means “sweet mouth”.

This one is chuukara or “medium hot”.

And this is karakuchi or “hot” - or, literally “hot (spicy) mouth”. Notice that it uses the same kara ? kanji from chuukara and the kuchi kanji from amakuchi?

The above three are the standard levels of hotness. In recent years you may occasionally encounter the kanji below. Read gekikara (notice the 2nd kanji is kara for “hot” or “spicy” again), it means “extremely (or dramatically) hot”. You can expect this to be very very spicy.

While we’re at it, here’s another kanji combo (not related to curry) you might see around Japan. Notice it uses the same ? character as gekikara. Read gekiyasu, it means “extremely cheap” and denotes something that’s on sale, or, well, being sold cheap (according to the seller).

By the way, my favorite restaurant curry in Japan is available at the venerable Shinjuku Nakamuyara main restaurant in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Like Taimeiken in Nihonbashi, Rupa in the main Shinjuku Nakamuraya building is a shinise yoshoku (Western style Japanese cuisine) restaurant (they also have some chuuka or Japanese-style Chinese dishes too), that has been in business for more than 80 years. Unlike Taimeiken though, whose operation is basically limited to 2 restaurants and a deli counter at the nearby Mitsukoshi, Shinjuku Nakamuraya has expanded considerably since its humble origins. The company now manufactures and sells snacks, baked and packaged goods via various department stores and other places, as well as operating 20 restaurants and bakeries. Their steamed buns (nikuman and anpan) are even more famous than their curry. While I think there are better manjuu to be had elsewhere, their curry remains a personal favorite after all these years.

The main Shinjuku Nakamuraya building, which houses 3 restaurants, a tea salon, a casual bakery, and a food boutique, has been open at the same address in busy Shinjuku since 1909. Here’s their storefront. Most people head to Rupa, the retro-casual yet still elegant (white glove service) yoshoku/chuuka restaurant on the 2nd floor (1st floor for Europeans).

The walls right in front of the Rupa restaurant entrance are lined with velvet-lined, glass-front showcases that display family photographs and models of the food to be had within.

And this is their most famous dish, chicken indo karii (???·???) You’ll notice that the they write the ‘curry’ part as karii as opposed to the usual kareh. It turns out there’s a reason for this. While ‘rice curry’ was initially called “karii” in Japan, it gradually changed to “kareh”. But the Nakamuya founders were actually basing their curry recipe on one from India. One of their daughters married Rash Behari Bose, a leader of the Indian Independence Movement who was living in exile in Japan. Bose joined the Nakamuraya company as an executive and introduced ‘real’ Indian recipes to the family. They’ve stuck to the “karii” way of pronouncing “curry” ever since, probably to differentiate it from the increasingly European-style curry served elsewhere.

As a child, going to Shinjuku Nakamuraya was a big treat for me. We used to live in Hachioji, on the Chuo (Central) line, and Shinjuko was the big ‘outings’ town for us. While my mom and sister sampled the whole menu, I stubbornly stuck to the same choices time after time: Indo Karii, followed by a big chocolate parfait. (I wish I still have my 10-year old self’s metabolism, that’s for sure.) I finally made my way back to Nakamuraya last year, and while I skipped the chocolate parfait dessert, I made sure to have the Indo Karii. It was almost exactly as I remembered it; the curry served in an elegant sauce boat, with fukujinzuke, rakkyo and some vegetable pickles, plus grated Parmesan cheese, on the side. And the rice, of course.

When I tasted it though, I had a strange revelation. This curry didn’t taste like Japanese curry at all. In fact it tasted very similar to the curry dishes I got from my local Indial takeout - especially their korma, though a bit more spicy. What do you know? My favorite childhood curry turns out to be as “authentic” an Indian-type curry as you could get in Japan in those days.

Shinjuku Nakamuraya is scheduled to close down their whole main store for major renovations on October 19, 2011, to reopen in 2014. But they will be operating a temporary store on the 6th floor of the Takano building, which is right around the corner. As a matter of fact, Nakamuraya’s Indo Karii followed by a fruity dessert from Takano Fruit Parlor, another Tokyo shinise, sounds like a great lunch to me.

Shinjuku Nakamuraya official website (Japanese only) Shinjuku Nakamuraya main store - until October 19, 2011: Shinjuku 3-26-13. Exit from the East entrance of JR Shinjuku station and walk 3 minutes, or the A-6 exit from the Shinjuku Metro station. Open 11:30 - 22:00. Rupa does not take reservations. Takano building - from November 15, 2011: The temporary restaurant will be on the 6th floor. I’ll post the opening hours when they’re posted on the official web site. The Takano Building is located at Shinjuku 3-26-13, right next to the Nakamuraya building. (Same public transportation).

View the original article here