Quick ‘n Dirty Beef Panang

Beef Panang is considered a dry curry (for Thailand at least) because it contains less roux (liquid base), and specifically, less coconut milk than other Thai curries. It is also one of the best uses for lean/tough beef, which is great since that’s pretty much all we have around here. Panang is an easy dish to make and my way is even easier than most. I’ve tried it the normally advocated way, by heating curry paste in coconut milk first, but I’ve found this is a waste of time when using ready-made curry paste. So without further ado:
INGREDIENTS

  • Beef – Any cut. Any quantity approximating that in the photos below (about 1.5 pounds).
  • Thai red curry paste – Suitable quantity depends on brand; see photos below for reference
  • Coconut milk – About one cup
  • Fresh kaffir lime leaves – Slice these into strips. I used 2-3 big leaves in the photos below.
  • Nampla (filtered fish sauce) – Suitable quantity depends on brand; I only used a couple dashes since I was using a fairly pungent brand. Remember, the only 2 reasons to use nampla are to make things SALTIER and FUNKIER – it doesn’t make a dish magically Thai, but it sure can funktify (esp. if you throw it in a hot frying pan).
  • OPTIONAL: Raw cane sugar – A tablespoon or so. I forego the use of sugar because I can’t stand sweet curries, and this dish already contains coconut milk.

DIRECTIONS
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Cut the beef into strips. Traditionally, it should be cut into thinner strips than this, but I like bite-sized chunks. Cut the kaffir lime leaves up as well. The baggie in the background contains the red curry paste (we only used about half).
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Heat a bit of vegetable oil in the pan and add the red curry paste. Fry it for a couple minutes on medium high heat to activate it, stirring rapidly to prevent sticking and burning. Then add the meat and stir often.
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Did I forget to mention that Nam was cooking while I took photos? Anyway, the baby started waking up at this point so the coconut milk was added earlier than usual – we usually wait until the meat is slightly browned but it turned out not to make a difference. Also, the Quick ‘n Dirty series of recipes is designed for those that need to display adaptability on occasion, so they are meant to be stretched and improvised upon.
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After the coconut milk is added, add a couple splashes of nampra (be careful, it’s really salty! You can always add more later, as well as sugar if you want) and also the lime leaves. Then turn the heat down to low-medium and let it simmer until either the meat becomes unbelievable soft and succulent, or tempted by the heavenly smell, you start scooping ladlefuls of panang onto hot mounds of rice and let the little piggy in you take over.
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Alternatively, you can serve with boiled egg halves and veggies of some kind.
Note that you can eat the lime leaves, but they are a bit tough. I usually put them to the side.
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This is C. Buddha signing off with today’s Quick ‘n Dirty recipe – funky and delicious, yet simple and semi-authentic-ish Beef Panang.

Keep it real

There are some fools claiming it’s all about WordPress. Get real, have you really read your master’s teachings? Is it not apparent with each link he magically conjures up in your footer?
Likewise, there are some claiming it’s all about Drupal or Textpattern or Nucleus (or Mambo or b2evolution). I’m not claiming that MT (which is running this blog) is the best, rather, I’m calling for the next true level of blogging software… We are far from the combination of power, features, and ease of use that each blogging platform claims to have but doesn’t really deliver… Bring on the next level, please. We are all waiting.

Shin Sekai Redux Repeat Rehash

There used to be a blue traffic sign if you drove into Shin Sekai from Namba welcoming you to SIN SEKAI. It might even still be there.
When we were in university there was still an indoor “fishing park,” archery range, and competing all-night dirty film theaters in the immediate vicinity of Tsutenkaku tower. Our first trip there was most notable because on the way to eat kushiyaki we walked right by a big Yak loudly berating and repeatedly slamming a woman against his S-class stopped in the middle of the street. People stopped to watch, but nobody said (much less did) shit – even the security guard standing in a nearby parking lot. It was grimy Osaka as fuck.
Passing through such places at night, you can get a glimpse of the hidden underside of an already dark and foreboding area: The police patrolling the perimeters, but not really entering. A skinny wretch of a dog chained to a seemingly abandoned food stall. The shabu junkies clutching greasy banknotes and buying bags of rock sugar at the corner store.
The greatest Tsutenkaku story I ever heard, though, is that back in the seventies or eighties they had an exhibition in the tower and turned it into a zoo of sorts, with caged animals displayed all the way up the staircase. I would have paid money to see that (Hell, come to think of it, my Crown might have been a taxi cruising the streets of Tennoji back then.).