Beef Short Ribs with Thai Green Curry

On my list of favorite ethnic cuisines, Thai food is actually pretty low. I think I always found it too sweet, too spicy, or both. But after going Paleo, I’ve noticed that Thai curries are a popular dish for cavepeople.

Sarah Fragoso has posted recipes for green and red curry. Intrigued, I decided to give Thai cuisine another shot.

I wanted to try my hand at making a Thai green curry but instead of using a quick-cooking meat, I wanted to use one of my favorite cuts for slow cooked stews: boneless short ribs. Forget chuck – without a doubt, boneless short ribs and brisket are my go-to cuts for slow simmering stews. These two cuts will yield perfectly tender, melt in your mouth beefy goodness even when you choose grass fed.

I threw together a Thai green curry that I slowly braised in the oven for a couple of hours and the resulting dish was pretty damn tasty. Plus, this dish can be made ahead on the weekend and reheated during your workweek. Win-win!

Get the recipe after the jump!

Time to make Beef Short Ribs with Thai Green Curry

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds of grass fed boneless beef short ribs, trimmed and cut into 1½ inch cubes
• ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon of Thai green curry paste
• 1 cup of coconut cream
• 4 cups of coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons of Red Boat fish sauce
• 1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into 1½ pieces
• 1 large onion, cut medium
• ¼ cup applesauce
• 1 pound of mixed frozen veggies
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Juice from one lime
• ½ cup basil leaves, coarsely chopped
• ½ cup mint leaves, coarsely chopped

Equipment:

• All of my recommended kitchen tools are listed here.

Method:

I preheated the oven to 300 F, prepped and gathered my ingredients…

…and tossed the short ribs with salt and pepper.

I heated a large Dutch oven over high heat and added the coconut cream…

…and Thai green curry paste.

I whisked constantly until the the liquid evaporated and the cream separated into oil and coconut solids. I continued whisking until the curry paste became very fragrant.

This step takes about 10 minutes. Be patient!

Next, I whisked in the coconut milk, fish sauce, and applesauce. I brought the liquid up to a boil and simmered for about 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.

I added the short ribs, onions, and carrots…

…and stirred to combine.

I increased the temperature and brought the curry to a boil. Then, I put on the lid and transferred the pot to the oven. I let the curry braise in the oven for 2 hours (or until the short ribs were nice and tender).

At this point, I defatted the curry and transferred everything to a storage container and placed it in the freezer. (If you aren’t freezing your stew, please let it chill in the fridge for at least a day to let the flavors meld.)

When I was ready to serve the stew, I took it out of the freezer…

…nuked it for a few minutes to defrost it and dumped it in a pot on the stove.

I heated stew on high until it came to a boil and then I lowered the heat and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

I added a bag of frozen veggies to the pot and simmered the curry for an additional 10 minutes.

(You should definitely add a bag of frozen veggies because the carrots and onions melt into the sauce.)

I adjusted for seasoning and took the curry off the heat.

Right before serving the stew, I added the basil, mint, and lime juice.

Yummy! Make a big batch of this stew and keep it in the freezer so you can heat up quick, comforting grub at a moment’s notice.

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Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).

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