~Courtesy of Alex Russin

This recipe is an old family favorite that my mother used to make for the four of us once a week. It’s creamy, rich, aromatic and comforting with its hearty melding of tender melt-in-your-mouth beef flavors alongside the sweetness of the silky coconut milk sauce that emerges after the ingredients are lovingly simmered together. It’s a little hot from the chilies and uses an array of spices more frequently found in Northern Thai dishes. You also get to make your own curry paste, which is actually more simple than you’d think!

Tip: This is a great way to introduce the kids to Thai Cuisine. However, if you’re concerned about them handling the heat you can add half the amount of chili powder and leave out the fresh chili or simply use one whole fresh chili for the entire dish.

Prep Tips: Finding shrimp paste can be challenging given that the only place you’ll find it is an asian supermarket (and finding time to make a special stop for ingredients might not gel with your schedule). You can substitute the shrimp paste for fish sauce easily without losing any integrity in the final product. For those without a mortar and pestle, a zip lock bag and a rolling pin work splendidly.

Suggested Pairings:

Thorle Saulheimer Spatburgunder Kalkstein 2014

Spatburgunder is the German translation for Pinot Noir. This cool climate pinot will be a great pairing for this curry. It packs plenty of acid to cut through the fatty beef and coconut milk textures and is low enough in tannin so as not to accentuate the heat from the chili. It possesses pretty aromatics of plum and raspberry that will increase the comfort factor alongside the whiffs of clove and coconut from the sauce.

TOOL ‘Releaf Me Lime Leave Blonde
 

TOOL recommends this beer for pairing with Thai food as do I having tried it with a similar coconut and chili base. It’s a lot of fun to play with. The strong lime leaf aromatics and flavors put the lime in the coconut and help you ‘eat’ it all up. This beer does not serve to dial back the heat but does enhance background flavors in harmony with the prominent ones creating a fun and interesting palatal experience.

Foxtrot Wapiti Rosé 2013

This is a rosé made from 100% pinot noir grapes. Its aromatics of strawberry, rhubarb and orange peel will nicely compliment the strong aromas of this curry. Fruit-forward with a bright acidic finish this is the rosé for this curry.