Quick Peanut Butter Beef Curry
It seems you’ve been getting a lot of leftovers lately. (Figuratively speaking, of course. Or have you?) Although I’ve been cooking like mad, prepping and photographing in an almost-always-near-disastrous kitchen with an often grumpy sous chef-slash-dishwasher, I can’t share most of the results with you. Sue and I are in the final stretch of the bean book, finishing up edits and photos and working on the layout and design, and the recipes and images for Alice Eats are due at the end of April (which my calendar tells me is in LESS THAN TWO WEEKS) and if I’m not done I’m pretty sure Pierre will maim me. I’ve seen how good he is with a knife. And this week I’m working on stuff for Swerve, the Herald, Parents Canada, Readers’ Digest, City Palate and Family Kitchen. It’s not that I haven’t been cooking, it’s just that I haven’t been sharing. Also, I’m feeling a little tapped out when it gets to be dinnertime.
This morning I covered traffic reporting on CBC (tomorrow too, I’m trying to go to bed now), which meant a 4am wakeup (and a 1am, 2am, 2:30am to make sure I wasn’t sleeping in), so I was ready for dinner mid-afternoon. I had pulled a frozen steak out of the freezer (which meant Mothers Little Helper has been playing on a loop in my brain all day). I just finished working out some recipes for a peanut butter company in New York that I may be in love with, one that makes peanut butter infused with maple and honey and chocolate (not all at once) and so have peanut butter on the brain. Also a glut of peanut butter. And a half can of coconut milk in the fridge. The combination may sound odd and a little lowbrow, but trust me – it worked. As much as anything because the sauce picked up the browned bits from the pan, enriching it far beyond the sum of its parts. Very much yum.
Also? I have some New York peanut butter for you if you want some.
Quick Peanut Butter Beef Curry
1 steak, cut into bite-sized pieces or strips
canola oil, for cooking
3 garlic cloves
2 tsp curry paste (or to taste)
a big spoonful of peanut butter
half a 14 oz (398 mL) can coconut milkPat the beef dry with a paper towel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle some oil into a large, heavy skillet (cast iron is ideal) set over medium-high heat. Brown the meat, getting some good colour on it – don’t worry about cooking it completely through. (It is a steak, after all.) Transfer to a plate.
Add the garlic and curry paste to the pan, then the peanut butter and coconut milk. Stir to blend and melt the peanut butter, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
Cook for a minute or two, until well blended and thickened; return the beef to the pan and heat through, simmering a little longer if the beef is still too pink inside. Serve immediately, over rice. Serves 2-4, depending on appetites.
April 18 2011 08:40 pm | beef
Vivian on 18 Apr 2011 at 9:29 pm #
I’ve kept checking back repeatedly to see if you’d posted something new. Happy that you have, but gee, concerned that there are so many draws on your creative time…guess it all means income…we all like that. NY PB…sounds interesting.
Cheryl on 18 Apr 2011 at 9:32 pm #
I’m a huge peanut butter fan…so I’ll definitely try this recipe. And teamed up with steak (who doesn’t love steak!) as well as being something that’s quick to prepare, well…it looks like this meal could easily become a mid-week family favorite in our home. Thanks so much for your enthusiastic informative blog. It’s inspiring! And good luck with traffic reporting tomorrow morning. You certainly have a full plate!
H-woman on 18 Apr 2011 at 11:22 pm #
Did somebody say peanut butter?! mmmmmm….
Aimee @ Simple Bites on 19 Apr 2011 at 6:35 am #
Jeepers, busy lady! It’s a wonder you’re not just serving up popcorn. =)
I wouldn’t mess with Pierre either. Good luck wrapping things up for Alice Eats!
Michelle BB on 19 Apr 2011 at 7:38 am #
This sounds like a great meal for when I get back from work to a hungry family and need to make something pronto. Good luck with an insane schedule!
Sheila on 19 Apr 2011 at 12:11 pm #
That is my favourite brand of peanut butter. I try to pick up a few jars when I can find them. I’ve yet to find them in Canada….did you??
Sherry on 19 Apr 2011 at 1:34 pm #
Wow that is really easy. I have always wanted to make a peanut sauce, so I will definitely try this!
Joni on 19 Apr 2011 at 2:14 pm #
Where can I buy that peanut butter? I am always trying to find sweetened peanut butter that doesn’t have hydrogenated oils, etc. My self-proclaimed vegetarian 5 year old (I have no idea how she got that way!) actually does like peanut butter, and finding a natural one that tastes good is a challenge. If I can get it here, please tell me where!
Cathy N in Inglewood Calgary on 19 Apr 2011 at 3:44 pm #
OK… this is another winner for my “Sail Across the Pacific” recipe file. We could definitely do this one within the first week when the meat hasn’t yet turned green (sorry about the image)! Sounds delish and I think I’ll do it tonight as a test run
Erin on 19 Apr 2011 at 10:14 pm #
Mmmmmmm. Looks awesome! I’ll be trying this one for sure. If it’s half as good as your thai-peanut butter-slow-cooker-chicken thing, it’ll because a regular in my household too!
Can’t wait for the new book!
Erin on 21 Apr 2011 at 6:56 am #
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Tried it last night and it was WONDERFUL! Quick and easy too. Not sure what to do with the other half of the can of coconut milk though. Any suggestions?
Gemma on 22 Apr 2011 at 10:00 am #
Erin, the rest of the coconut milk can be mixed with water and used to make coconut rice, which you could serve with the beef. Just use the same amount of liquid that you normally use when making rice. It is delicious!
kickpleat on 22 Apr 2011 at 1:19 pm #
I love the sounds of this! I’ve made something with coconut milk and peanut butter and vegetables and noodles, but over steak, sounds very delicious.