Curried Beef and Vegetables

Not sure what kind of curry this is, but it was easy to make, easy to eat, and had  a nice mild spicy-savory taste to it. Similar to my recipe for Aaloo Keema, a traditional spicy Pakistani Curry. Now I don't know about you but I get bored of ground beef sometimes and this is a nice recipe to change things up a bit.

Curried Beef and Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 2-4 Servings White Rice, Cooked
• 1 Pound Ground Beef
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons Mirin (or sugar or honey)
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/4 Cup Fish Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
• 2-3 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
• 2-4 Teaspoons Sriracha Sauce, or a Chili-Garlic Sauce
• 1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin
• 1 Teaspoon Garam Masala
• 1-2 Tablespoons Corn Starch
• 1 Red Pepper, diced
• 3-5 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable oil
• Cracked Black Pepper
• 1 Can diced Tomatoes, undrained
• 2 Cups Shredded Lettuce Leaves (Pack the leaves in your measuring cup. They will wilt and shrink a lot in size in the final dish)
• Sesame Seeds, as Garnish (About a tablespoon will do)

Instructions:

1. Set a large cast iron skillet, or wok or frying pan to medium heat. Lightly oil the pan with about 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
2. In a small bowl mix together 2-3 Cloves or minced Garlic, the Mirin, Fish Sauce, Soy Sauce, Sriracha sauce, Curry Powder, Cumin, Garam Masala and Corn Starch. Whisk everything together well. Set aside, this is our curry sauce.
3. Dice the red pepper. Stir fry the red pepper in the heated pan for about 5-10 minutes. Add 3-5 cloves of minced garlic, season everything with cracked black pepper and stir fry an additional minute.
4. Add the ground beef and scramble-cook the beef until no longer pink and cooked through, about 15 minutes. Drain off any fat from the cooked beef.
5. Add the can of diced tomatoes, juice and all. Add the curry sauce and stir well to blend. Bring everything to boil stirring occasionally.
6. Reduce heat to a simmer and reduce sauce for 25-35 minutes, until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. More sour from lemon juice, more sweet from mirin, more salt from soy sauce or fish sauce,and more spice from either extra sriracha or cumin powder. If the curry feels too mild to you add an extra half tablespoon of curry powder. Allow sauce to simmer for a few additional minutes after adjusting seasonings and taste again. Repeat until you are happy with the sauce.
7. Fold the shredded lettuce leaves into the curry, until they are fully under the sauce. Cook until lettuce is just wilted and is a bright green color, only about 2-3 minutes.
8. To serve, ladle curry over top of rice in a bowl and sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top.

Enjoy!

Notes:

I am still not the biggest fan of super spicy food but I am trying to expand my palate a bit and try some new foods.  This is a sort of hybrid curry, it isn't quite Thai or Vietnamese or middle Eastern but more of a mash up of some elements from all over the place, but it is a mash up that works pretty darn well and best of all for me it isn't too spicy but has lots of flavor to back it up. Plus it uses up some ingredients I have had sitting in the fridge for a bit. Waste not want not!

Other Places:

Not the right kind of Curry? How about:

Aaloo Keema
Thai Fish Curry
Honey Curry Glazed Chicken
Coconut Curried Chicken