Malaysian Beef Stew

Though Spring is fast approaching, its still cold enough for stews, and this evening we're trying this one out!  We haven't tried this recipe before, but we've made a variety of dishes with recipes from this website, so I'm sure this one will be delicious as well! I'm getting the slow cooker all prepped this morning for a visit to Malaysia this evening.  

Malaysian Beef Stew

This is an ImportFood.com online  recipe. Here you can conveniently purchase authentic, quality ingredients imported from Thailand.

Ingredients - Spice Paste

8 large dried New Mexico chiles

4 stalks fresh lemongrass

1/2 cup chopped shallots

6 garlic cloves, peeled

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons fish sauce

1 tablespoon golden brown sugar

Ingredients - Stew

3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes

1 14-ounce can coconut milk

8 kaffir lime leaves (we substituted sweet basil when we couldn’t find lime leaves)

2 whole star anise

1 cinnamon stick

1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate

Chopped fresh cilantro

Steamed rice

Method - Spice Paste

Cover chiles with very hot water and soak until soft, about 45 minutes. Drain. Stem, seed, and chop chiles. Cut off bottom 4 inches from lemongrass stalks; chop and transfer to processor (reserve tops of stalks for stew). Add shallots, garlic, coriander, cumin, ginger, and 1 teaspoon ground black pepper; process until finely ground. Add 1/2 cup water, chiles, fish sauce, and sugar; process to paste. Transfer to bowl. Cover; chill.

Method - Stew

Smash reserved tops of lemongrass from spice paste with mallet or rolling pin. Bend in half; bundle with kitchen twine. Mix beef and spice paste in slow cooker. Stir in lemongrass bundles, coconut milk, lime leaves, star anise, cinnamon, and tamarind. Press meat down to completely submerge. Cook stew on low heat until meat is very tender, 41/2 to 5 hours. Tilt pot and spoon off excess fat from surface of stew. Remove lemongrass bundles, lime leaves, star anise, and cinnamon stick. Transfer stew to bowl. Sprinkle cilantro over and serve with steamed rice.

****If you don't have a slow cooker, use a covered Dutch oven; cook the curry in a 325ºF oven until the beef is tender, about 2 hours, adding 1/2 cup water if the stew is dry. The spice paste can be made up to a week ahead of cooking.