Red Thai Beef

[Nero]

I bought an electric wok last week which arrived yesterday. The first meal in it (dinner last night) was a bog standard stir fry, and today we decided to try a recipe from the booklet that came with the wok.

Red Thai Beef
Serves 4

Ingredients:
450g (1lb) lean steak, rump or sirloin
1 beef stock cube dissolved in 150ml (1/4 pint) boiling water
4 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp ground coriander
150ml (1/4 pint) tomato passata
1 small red chilli, seeded and finely sliced
1 tsp finely chopped lemon grass
2 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Method:
Remove any visible fat from the meat and discard. Slice th emeat into thin strips and place in a shallow dish. Season well with salt and black pepper.

Combine the remaining ingredients, except the fresh coriander, and pour over the beef. Leave to marinate for at least 1 hour, mixing periodically.

Strain the marinade from the beef and reserve. Pre-heat your wok to a high heat, then stir-fry the beef for 1-2 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.

Add the reserved marinade, lower the heat and warm through (because there had been raw meat in the marinade, I chose to bring this to a boil for a few minutes to be safe).

Stir in the fresh coriander and serve on a bed of boiled basmati rice.

Now, me being me, I was missing a few ingredients so made substitutions - vegetable stock for beef stock, and lime zest and juice for the lemon grass. This worked very well, but next time I will use the lime zest and about half the quantity of juice I put in today. It was a bit sharp and I needed to add some sugar to balance it out.

We served this over egg noodles (for sis) and quinoa (for moi). It is a good dish and got the thumbs up from sister as well. So we shall be seeing this on the dinner table again...

[Cashaca]

Now that sounds good Nero. Havent come across an electric wok. (Soz you're got probs with your apt ours is the same unless you ring up on the morning and they fit you in - plays havoc with work times though)

I must admit we cheat slightly with thai curries as there is a thai woman in n'fields who has a small thai food shop and runs cookery classes (generally just for 2-4 people). She makes up her own home made green and red curry pastes so we buy them fresh from her and then chuck in the veg and a tin of coconut milk if required. However today we are doing something new which I am excited about . (When I say 'we' the work will be done by H.

My american friend gave us some tins of Chilpotle Peppers in adobo sauce and green chillies and a Southwest Turkey burgers recipe. But we couldn't find minced turkey anywhere until today (the 'big' tesco) So we'll give it a go and post if it's good. Now I believe that turkey is meant to be healthy and lower fat so bring it on. Looking forward to trying these adobo peppers though. Never cooked with black beans either. They also refer to montery jack which I thought was chilli cheddar but it doesnt seem to be so may have to put some applewood smoked cheddar in instead (see heathy I told you getting one of the 5 a day in there )

What's everyone else dining on today?

New fact of the day: Did you know that americans spell chillies as chiles
Don't say I don't never learn ye lot nuffink

[Sancerre]

Nero, that sounds delish! Didn't know you could get electric woks. Might look for one. Love Thai curries.

Cash, didn't know about chillies. Something new learnt today! ;-)

L's doing tuna steaks with couscous and roasted veg. Yumm!

Enjoy your meals xx

[Cashaca]

Actually meant to ask above Nero how do you get on with the Quinoa - its meant to be so good for you I've never tried apart from in an m&s salad but it's a bit couscous like is it. Let us know. Got the adobo pepper is smoky but HOOOOt! mmm

[Nero]

Originally Posted by Cashaca

Actually meant to ask above Nero how do you get on with the Quinoa - its meant to be so good for you I've never tried apart from in an m&s salad but it's a bit couscous like is it. Let us know. Got the adobo pepper is smoky but HOOOOt! mmm

Hi Cashaca,

There is a lovely little Mexican stand at Borough Market - if you develop a liking for those chillies and all things adobo and mole, you can always shop there. I am very keen to try tamales next myself.

Quinoa is really nice, just a bit of a pest to cook. If you follow the packet instructions - rinse, dry, dry fry, then boil, you end up with glue. Just rinse, then boil on low heat 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water. When the water has all but cooked away, take off the heat, cover and leave to steam for 5 to 10 minutes. Takes about 15 to 20 minutes and has a lovely nutty taste. I find it a good substitute to both rice for savoury dishes, and oats for breakfast cereal.