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Tender curried beef strips coated in creamy peanut sauce over white rice with chopped peanuts and scallions.
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Curried Beef with Creamy Peanut Sauce

This Curried Beef with Creamy Peanut Sauce braises flank steak for 90 minutes in coconut milk, red curry paste, and peanut butter until it's fork tender and the sauce is thick enough to coat rice. Serve it over jasmine rice with peanuts and cilantro. Feeds 6 and it's even better the next day.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time2 hours 5 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Asian
Keyword: beef curry recipe, Curried Beef with Creamy Peanut Sauce, curried beef with peanut sauce
Servings: 6
Calories: 680kcal
Author: Joanna Cismaru

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds flank steak cut into strips against the grain
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 5 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
  • 3 tablespoons red curry paste
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 14 ounces full fat coconut milk 1 can
  • 2 cups beef broth low sodium
  • ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce low sodium
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice

For serving

  • 3 cups cooked jasmine rice warm
  • ⅓ cup roasted peanuts chopped
  • 3 green onions sliced
  • ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Pat the 2 pounds flank steak strips dry and season with the 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Heat the 3 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the beef strips in batches for 2 to 3 minutes, until browned on the outside. Do not crowd the pot, since that steams the meat instead of searing it. Transfer the beef to a plate.
    Two-panel process image showing raw flank steak strips added to a skillet, then browned and cooked through.
  • Lower the heat to medium and add the diced onion to the same pot. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until softened, scraping up the browned bits. Stir in the 5 cloves minced garlic and 1 tablespoon grated ginger and cook for 1 minute more.
    Two-panel process image showing chopped onions cooking until golden, followed by fresh garlic and ginger added.
  • Stir in the 3 tablespoons red curry paste and 1 tablespoon curry powder and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant and the paste darkens slightly. Blooming the paste in the oil is what wakes up all that flavor.
    Two-panel process image showing red curry paste and curry powder added to sautéed onions, then cooked until fragrant.
  • Pour in the coconut milk and 2 cups beef broth, then whisk in the ⅓ cup peanut butter, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and 1 tablespoon brown sugar until smooth.
    Two-panel process image showing coconut milk and broth stirred into the curry mixture before adding creamy peanut butter.
  • Return the beef and any juices to the pot. Bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the beef is fork tender. If the sauce gets too thick, loosen it with a splash of broth.
    Two-panel process image showing browned beef returned to the creamy peanut curry sauce and stirred until coated.
  • Stir in the 2 tablespoons lime juice. Taste and adjust the salt, lime, or sugar as needed.
    Two-panel process image showing lime juice added to curried beef, then the finished skillet garnished with peanuts and scallions.
  • Serve over the 3 cups warm jasmine rice, topped with the ⅓ cup chopped peanuts, sliced green onions, and ¼ cup cilantro.

Notes

  1. Cut against the grain. Flank has very obvious grain. Slice across it, not with it, before cooking.
  2. Sear in batches. Crowding the pot steams the beef and you lose the browning that flavors the whole sauce.
  3. Bloom the paste for a full minute. The flavor in curry paste is fat soluble, so it needs the hot oil to release properly. Watch it though, because 2 minutes and it turns bitter.
  4. Full fat coconut milk only. Light coconut milk doesn't have the fat for a rich sauce and splits much more easily.
  5. Gentle simmer, never a boil. Boiling splits the coconut milk and the sauce goes grainy.
  6. Tough beef needs longer. Flank tightens before it turns tender. If it's chewy at an hour, give it another 20 to 30 minutes.
  7. Lime goes in off the heat, at the very end. Its brightness cooks away if it goes in early.
  8. Curry paste heat varies. Thai Kitchen is mild, Mae Ploy is much hotter. Start with 2 tablespoons of Mae Ploy and work up.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 680kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 41g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Trans Fat: 0.05g | Cholesterol: 91mg | Sodium: 1540mg | Potassium: 1118mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 1300IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 6mg
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