Panaeng Beef in Red Curry Peanut Sauce

Que delicioso! I'd say that in Thai if I could, but I cant'.

I'm a big fan of red curry. BIG FAN. I can't say that this tastes any different than my normal red curry favorite (chicken, red curry and coconut milk), and yet this was sooo good. The recipe called for 2T of red curry paste and I thought, "Good Lord I'll never feel my tongue again." So I opted for 2 tsp. Wasn't enough. I added 2 more tsps and then added just one more. That was perfect. And almost 2T.

I did some research on this an panaeng is one of Thailand's signature dishes

Panaeng Beef in Red Curry Peanut Sauce
Serves 4-6

• 1 cup Unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 lb Boneless beef, such as flank steak, thinly sliced crosswise into 2 in strips
• 2 T Panaeng curry paste or red curry paste
• 2 T fish sauce
• 2 T brown sugar (the recipe calls for palm sugar - but I can never find that)
• 3 T finely chopped peanuts or peanut butter
• 3 wild lime leaves torn or cut (yah, never could fine wild lime leaves, so skipped this)

In a medium saucepan, stir together 1/2 cup of the coconut milk and the water and bring to a very gentle boil over medium heat. Sprinkle in the sliced beef, stirring to keep the pieces from sticking together, and simmer 5 minutes, until meat is tender. With a slotted spoon, scoop the meat out into a bowl and set aside, leaving coconut milk in a pan to return to a gentle boil.

Stir in the curry paste and cook, pressing and stirring to dissolve the paste, 3 to 4 minutes, until the sauce is fragrant and smooth. Return the beef and any juices to the pan, adding the remaining 1/2 cup coconut milk, and bring back to a gentle boil.

Add fish sauce, brown sugar, peanuts and lime leaves, if using. Stir well and simmer 3-4 minutes more until the sauce is smooth.

Serve with rice.