Burmese Beef Curry with Vermicelli Rice Noodles
May 5, 2004 posted by Linda Avery
by Ching-He Huang
from China Modern
(Kyle Books, 2006)
Serves 2
A delicious Burmese curry that you can adapt to your taste. If you can’t take chiles, reduce the quantity or, if you love spiciness, increase the number of pepper; you can also add some crushed dried chiles as well. This recipe can be served with steamed rice, but I love Chinese vermicelli rice noodles.—Ching-He Huang
convert Ingredients
For the paste
4 garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 red chiles, seeded and chopped
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 handful chopped fresh cilantro
1 handful chopped Thai basil leaves
For the beef
2 tablespoons peanut oil
2 shallots, peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon shrimp paste
12 1/2 ounce sirloin steak, cubed
1 1/4 cups coconut milk
1 lemongrass stalk, chopped
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 tablespoons fish sauce (nam pla)
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Method
Make the paste
1. Blend all the paste ingredients together.
Make the beef
1 Heat a wok over high heat, add the oil and stir fry the shallots with the shrimp paste for less than 1 minute. Add the paste ingredients and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the steak and stir fry for 2 minutes until browned on all sides.
2. Stir in the coconut milk. (For a thinner sauce, you could also add a little chicken stock at this stage. For a creamier curry, you could add some coconut cream.) Add the lemongrass, the brown sugar, ground coriander and fish sauce. Bring to the boil and sprinkle with a handful of chopped fresh cilantro and Thai basil leaves.
3. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the vermicelli rice noodles according to the packet instructions, drain and place in 2 serving bowls. Ladle curry over the noodles and serve immediately.
Recipe © 2006 by Ching-He Huang. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.
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[Carol Anne Grady] I love Ching-he Huang’s recipes as a rule. This one is different to some of her more delicate creations and contains a lot of fragrant ingredients that balance neatly, although during the cooking process I have to admit to having my doubts about the amounts used—I should, of course, have known better. The strong smell of the shrimp paste is soon lost in the mix of scents from the curry paste, and all the bold flavours are ultimately tempered and mixed by the coconut milk. The curry soaks into the fine rice noodles in a way that is very satisfing, although the thinner consistency of the sauce makes using chopsticks a little bit hazardous… I think more texture would work really well and next time will add something with crunch—baby sweet corn, broccoli, and snow peas come to mind. For those who like Thai and spicy food, get involved in this recipe. For those who don’t, exercise caution and adjust the amount of chili down, but give it a try!