Beef and Sweet Potato Curry

in ,

This slow cooker beef and sweet potato curry is one of my favorite things I’ve cooked this year, and the kids devoured it. You can serve it with rice, or do like I did and just eat it out of the serving dish like a stew.

The beef is so so melt-in-your-mouth, and the sweet potato sugars break down so much that you might confuse them with marshmallows. That, paired with the intense aromas and hint of spice from the red curry paste, as well as the unctuous mellowing effects of the coconut milk - it all adds up to something screaming “Give me lime!”, and then… when you give it the lime… it’s suddenly slick and fatty but refreshing at the same time. The fact that I could just brown the beef and then throw it into the slow cooker before work was a huge lifesaver too.

Butter Count: There’s enough fat without it, t

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 lbs beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes

Salt and pepper for seasoning the beef

2 Tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion, diced

1 bell pepper, cored and diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch ginger, peeled and minced

2 Tbsp Thai red curry paste

1/2 cup beef stock

14 oz canned tomato puree, sauce, or passata

2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 tsp sugar

1 14oz can full fat coconut milk

2 or 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (they will break down, so cube size doesn’t matter)

3 Tbsp soy sauce

Limes for serving

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Season the beef on all sides with salt and pepper.

  2. Heat the oil over high heat in a large, high-walled pan. Add the beef in batches and cook about 8 minutes, turning halfway through until all sides are deeply browned, in batches if needed. Use tongs to transfer the cooked beef to the slow cooker, leaving the juices in the pan.

  3. Add the onion and bell pepper to the pan, cooking about 5 minutes until the onions are fully translucent.

  4. Add the garlic, ginger, and red curry paste. Stir and cook about 1 minute.

  5. Add the beef stock and cook another minute while stirring.

  6. Add the canned wet tomato, tomato paste, sugar, and coconut milk, and stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil and then carefully pour it into the slow cooker. Don’t worry if the beef is not completely submerged in liquid.

  7. Put the lid on the slow cooker and cook 6 hours on high or 8 hours on low.

  8. Just before serving, add the soy sauce and stir. Then squeeze in some lime juice to taste.

  9. Serve over rice, or eat directly from the slow cooker with a spoon.