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Cut of beef for Thai Curry?

post #1 of 9
10/21/07 at 3:59pm
Thread Starter 
Anyone here have a favorite, or a reccomendation for the best cut of beef to use in this dish? I have used "stew" meat, rib eye, and skirt steak (strips cut against the grain), and probably a few others I've forgotten about. now, since "curry" is a pretty nebulous thing as the name of a dish, I'll describe what I do to avoid confusion:

1. Cut & brown the meat in a wok. Remove.
2. Sear veggies a bit. Remove.
3. Add oil, fry curry paste. (I like those little cans of it I get at the asian market. Not for the timid.)
4. Mix coconut milk w/ paste. Bring to a boil & add meat.
5. Add veggies in an order that compliments their optimum cooking times (i.e. cut taters take longer than peas)
6. When near end, season with cut lime leaves & fish sauce. Melt some sugar on the edge of the wok and mix it in. serve w/ rice.

I'd like to hear some opinions from the forum about this, or mabye alterations to the process to accomidate certain cuts. Everything I've tried has worked well, but I thought that someone with a greater knowledge of beef than myself may have some good info.
Thanks in advance-
RTF
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post #2 of 9
10/21/07 at 4:33pm
I'd use rump steak. Helps if you firm it up in the freezer before cutting it to make the very thin slices. The method sounds ok, maybe add some lime juice in at the end.
DC
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post #3 of 9
10/21/07 at 4:52pm
Very nice and classic technique. You can use any cut, but if it were me, I'd use short ribs and braise them for a long long time. :D

You must decide, short braise or long braise depending on the cut! Now before you say BUT THAT'S MY QUESTION you have to remember that technique is the art of knowing how to work with what you have. So anyway, if you want to long braise, use some vegetable stock at step four, braise (I suggest you braise with lime leaf), add veggies, finish with coconut milk.

Anyway yep, my preference would be short ribs because that's the way I feel tonight.
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post #4 of 9
10/22/07 at 12:48am
Thread Starter 
Well, I'll just have to give 'em both a try in the months to come. The suggestion of short ribs, though, raises another question. I'm familiar with them as short ribs and polenta are one of my favorite things these days, and they are really fatty! I have roasted them before braising to extract some of the fat and there is always a $#!tload of it!! (Not only after a good roast, but the braise isn't exactly without a bit of a film on top.) If I followed your instructions and braised for a long long time, won't I have a lot of fat floating on the top? Now, I'm not (probably to a fault) the most health conscious guy, but even I couldn't get into a curry that was underneath an inch of molten rib fat.

Or did I miss something?

You'd still brown 'em first, right? Would that get rid of enough of the fat?

Oh, and does rump steak ever go by another name?
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post #5 of 9
10/22/07 at 4:04am
You might just want to slow roast the short ribs for a bit in the oven in that case. You're right about the fat though, but short ribs are oh so good. It's not the traditional cut to use in Thai curry but it'd make a nice fusiony kind of dish I think.

You can also try thin sliced ribeye. You can buy really thin shaved ribeye at the Korean grocer. It's used for Bulgogi. That works real well in this sort of thing.

Note: I'd use whole lime leaf while braising, not at the end. Finish with a squeeze of lime.
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post #6 of 9
10/22/07 at 4:26am
I believe you chaps over the pond call rump steak "Sirloin".:smiles:
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post #7 of 9
10/22/07 at 4:42am
Hey Welshy: I thought it was us, THIS side of the pond, that use 'sirloin' as the name for a cut of steak? :D
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post #8 of 9
10/22/07 at 6:21am
Afternoon Jocko! I think they call rump sirloin and sirloin New York strip. I could be wrong though (it has been known!).

I only live in Wales, i'm English. And i've been constantly reminded of that fact since the Boks beat us in the rugby!!:o

PS. I had the most fantastic steak from here yesterday. Supermarket meat just doesn't come close to the good stuff any more.
Pembrokeshire Coast Organic Meat
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post #9 of 9
10/22/07 at 2:21pm
Don't you call me Jocko... :D
Commiserations on.... well the list starts here...

The rugby
Lewis Hamilton
England Football team..
Shall I go on?!

Thanks for the link!
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