our FAVE recipe, picky-eater pleaser, Thai Style Beef
This recipe is one of our go-to's. It's M's favorite, and is great for kids of (almost) all ages since it is a saucey, sloppy-joe consistency. Make it with ground beef for iron and taste, we often use ground turkey because Dad prefers it. (Notice M hiding behind the table giving a thumbs-up?)This is fancy enough that I've served it with lettuce cups for a dinner party, and casual enough to throw into a thermos for lunches. I made a huge quadruple batch for the teachers at M's school, and it got rave reviews, even from those who were initially skeptical. The ingredients can be found at most markets these days, and keep in the fridge for a long time (fish sauce and red pepper paste.) It is very mild, but flavorful... Tell me what you think! I usually serve with boiled or steamed broccoli.
- 1 cup thinly sliced/choppedleek (about 1 leek)
- (can use onion, but leeks are great)
- 1 tspn bottled minced garlic (or one clove fresh, or from tubes, my fave)
- 1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
- 1 teaspoon red curry paste (such as Thai kitchen)
- 1 cup tomato sauce (can and make up the difference with ketchup, 1 14 oz. can not quite 2 cups for double recipe...)
- ½ cup light coconut milk (Whole foods 365 brand seems richer than Thai kitchen, can use regular coconut milk I'm sure…)
- 1 Tbspn brown sugar
- ¼ tspn grated lime rind
- 1 ½ Tbsn fresh lime juice
- 1 Tbspn Asian fish sauce
- 3 cups cooked rice (or as needed)
- iceburg lettuce or Bibb lettuce leaves
- chopped cilantro
- chopped green onions
- Heat large skillet over med-high. (2 if double batching, read below)
- Coat with cooking spray (I use a splash of olive oil.) Sautee leeks about 5 minutes (can do more so they are very soft for kids.) Add garlic, sautee a few minutes, add beef and cook until brown (with double batch, I have the leeks going in one pan, and the meat in another then I can combine them—saves lots of time. I do remove excess liquid from the meat.)
- Stir in curry paste and tomato sauce, cook until half the liquid is gone (almost instantly for me…) Add coconut milk and next 4 ingrd. (through fish sauce) cook about 2 minutes. It can sit longer. Be careful not to simmer all the sauce away if you wait to serve. Serve with rice and wrap in lettuce leaves, garnish with fresh cilantro and onions.
M loves to just eat the meat with rice with a spoon, we love the crunch of the wraps. It sounds really ambitious, but folks love it, and it's not too hard to learn. We make this a few times a month and the fish sauce tastes great in stir-fries.Leeks: cut off the rough green parts and the root. Slice it down the middle and run cold water over it to get dirt and grit out. Use your fingers to clean it out. (link above has video)Kids can help: kids can wash lettuce, and pull of leeks, measure and stir ingredients, use knives as appropriate to help chop leeks or onions, measure rice...My issue is we have lots of cilantro left over. I try to plan to make guacamole too, but often throw out cilantro. Can you share fave recipes of yours that use fresh cilantro?