A delicious, creamy, sauced beef curry without all the waiting and numerous ingredients typically in a curry. This Coconut Beef Curry Stew can easily be a mid-week dinner and does not lack in the flavor department. Bonus points for tasting even better the next day, too!
I realize this isn’t all that spooky of a Halloween post, but it’s a good one to fill you up before hiking around with the kids and binging on sugar.
So it’s getting cooler out there in parts of the country and although this past week here in San Diego the weather has been a whopping 90°F+ and the relentless fires up in Northern California continue to burn, I thought more and more about stews and soups. Is it cold where you’re at yet?
MY LATEST VIDEOSThis Coconut Beef Curry Stew is one that will give your kitchen this amazing aroma, and is light in effort to make and the family will devour.
Tender beef chuck gets browned first. I know some people complain about that extra step, BUT that extra step brings out so much flavor! Brown food is good!
It sears the meat to keep in the juices, caramelizes on the outside and leaves little bits and pieces that are critical in giving a sauce that extra punch of flavor.
Most curries use chicken and seafood, but I was in a beef sort of mood and remembered this beauty.This is sure to feed a crowd, too! It’s loaded with Yukon Gold potatoes and a wonderful gravy enriched with garlic, ginger, onions and coconut milk.
As for the curry powder I prefer the Indian for this one and you can spice it up with toppings like sliced red Fresno chiles, chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime if you like.
If you like curries, try my Grilled Thai Red Curry Chicken, Creamy Thai Red Curry with Chicken, Thai Yellow Curry Shrimp with Pineapple or make your own curry pastes with my Easy Thai Yellow Curry Paste or this Easy Thai Red Curry Paste. For a lighter salad try my Chicken Curry Salad or these Mango Curry Chicken Salad Wraps. Enjoy!
Coconut Beef Curry Stew
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs beef chuck cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- Kosher salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp butter (salted or unsalted)
- 1 white onion medium, thinly sliced
- 4 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 tbsp ginger peeled, finely chopped or paste
- 3 tbsp curry powder preferably Indian
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 13.5- ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 lbs Yukon Gold potatoes peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
Toppings
- 1 Fresno chiles sliced thin or jalapeno
- Cilantro
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Season beef generously all over with salt. Heat oil in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook beef, turning until deeply browned on all sides, 8–10 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
- Pour off all but 1 Tbsp. fat from pot. Reduce heat to medium. Add butter, onion, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring often and scraping up browned bits, until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add curry; cook, stirring, until it starts to stick to pot, about 3 minutes. Stir in bay leaves, coconut milk, and 1 cup water.
- Return beef to pot. Season with salt and bring to a simmer. Cook, partially covered, until beef is just fork-tender, 30–35 minutes.
- Add potatoes, bring to a simmer again, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until beef and potatoes are tender, 25–35 minutes. Thin with water if needed; season with salt to taste. Serve over rice, topped with cilantro, chile, and lime wedges.
No matter the website or blog, somebody is ALWAYS stating that such and such recipe isn’t authentic. Who cares? I’ve had so may “authentic” curry dishes from different Asian regions that it’s clear to me all of them aren’t meant to be identical. This recipe is of no exception.
I finally made the dish and it was very good. Gave it a 4-star only because I didn’t follow the recipe precisely so I really don’t know how that tastes exactly. Changes? Replaced jalepenos with sweet bell peppers and used sea salt instead of kosher. Other than tasting along the way…this recipe is quite forgiving for additions, replacements, or leave-outs. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Dude😱
Amazing. I made it with sliced beef and added red bell pepper and jalapeño. It came out perfect. Thanks Again.
Love this one myself. Thanks for reminding me, it might have to happen again today!
Kevin, 35mins to cook beef chuck??
Maybe you missed something, because you need to brown the beef chuck (10 minutes), then it’s cooked for 35 minutes more and then another 35 after potatoes are added. Hope that helps Lisa. Hoe you give it a try! 🙂
Hi Kevin. Although the basic recipe is ok there is something missing like one or two other people have said. It is just not true curry because definitely not enough heat. I added WAY more Curry. Added some heat with Cayenne pepper and sweet Paprika. Also the beef getting tender did not happen in the time allotted for it . Because I use Grass Fed beef to get soft takes way longer I believe because there is so little fat in it. After I tweaked this it was pretty good. Not as good as I have had in Authentic Indian… Read more »
OK Kevin after the tweaking and letting it cook a long time then in the fridge overnight it got AWESOME!
Like in 5 stars and tasted like real Indian food.
I brought it to my Daughter’s for our tree trimming and it was a huge hit with everyone.
They had seconds:)
So happy you tweaked it to you tastes Randi. Have a wonderful holiday season with the family. 🙂
This Asian curry recipe is actually adapted from Shuai Wang, Short Grain, Charleston, SC. As stated in the Bon Apetit article this was referenced from, “There’s a time for a 20-ingredient, four-hour curry, and it’s not 5 p.m. on Tuesday. This shortcut version yields a hearty crowd-pleaser.” This is the later and I agree. Thanks for giving it a try and taking the time to come back and share your insights Randi.
Hi, Kevin! I’m going to try this recipe this coming Saturday only because it’s yours and everything I’ve tried by you, to date, has been excellent. You see, I’m originally from a Caribbean island, with a BIG Indian influence, and I learned to make curried beef quite differently, but ‘m willing to try any of your recipes. PS: OMG, your Butter Chicken recipe is to die for. My husband thinks I’m an outstanding cook … little does he know you’re the one I seek out for guidance … hehehe!
Thanks so much for the kind words here Anne, so happy I could help out in the kitchen. It’s our secret. 😉
I rarely leave reviews, simply due to #mombrain… but, I had to let you know that I made this last night, during a cold and blustery storm and it was excellent! perfect cozy food by a fire! I used grass fed rump roast, instead of chuck, as it was what I had on hand, and browned in bacon fat, which was in my cast iron from Saturday morning bacon. I used homemade chicken broth instead of the water, and added some carrots in with the potatoes (simply because they needed to be used up). I mixed it up and used… Read more »
Excellent, so glad you found me and enjoyed this one. Thanks for taking the time to come back and let me know. 🙂
This looks delicious, can it be done in the slow cooker?
I don’t see why not Sandy. I would brown the beef first though, that’s key to me!
Nice simple basic recipe, but I do have trouble sticking to recipes. I skipped the potatoes added a thinly sliced jalapeño pepper a diced tomato and a couple tablespoons of tomato paste and served the curry over basmati rice. Delish!
So glad you enjoyed this one Lydia, thanks for letting me know!
Hi Kevin. I made this dish for dinner last night and I must say I was impressed. To me and my kids, it definitely didn’t lack anything in the flavor department. I used ginger powder instead, but everything else was the same as it called for in your recipe. My kids and I loved it! Thanks!
Thanks so much for coming back to let me know Sara! Glad you all enjoyed! 🙂
Hey there! Thanks for the recipe! My husband and I are always looking for curry dishes. While there is potential, I don’t feel this is a good representation of beef currry. My husband followed this to a T and ended up having to add extra ginger twice (on top of what was already needed), and extra salt. Also the ingredients calls for ginger, peeled and chopped while the video calls for ginger paste. I don’t know if that made the difference but it definitely didn’t have enough ginger. For the length of time it takes this is not good. If… Read more »
Hey there Erica, thanks for trying the recipe and commenting here with your thoughts. This is actually a recipe I adapted (as noted in the recipe card) from chef Shuai Wang and was featured in Bon Appetit magazine. If the added ginger and salt was what you needed to suit your tastes, great! With all those aromatic ingredients and the 3 tablespoons of curry powder, I don’t know how you could say it lacked flavor. It just goes to show how we all have different tastes and that’s what I love about cooking and readers like you. I often times… Read more »
That was a well worded reply. ? Love your blog, Kevin – you’re one of my favorite foodies. Looking forward to making this for the upcoming week.
Thanks Shelley. Everyone has an opinion and I find I must be respectful of that. Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy. Let me know what YOU think. 😉
Sooo many wonderful curries to choose from! Yum. The family will definitely devour this for a dinner.
Thanks so much!
I made something very similar to this recently, except I didn’t use coconut milk. Definitely going to try your recipe very soon. Love a good beef curry!
I bet your loving being back home in your own kitchen, right? Thanks John!
I have also been excited about soup and stew season, but the temps here in San Diego have been so hot! I’m glad it’s finally starting to cool off. I’m a pretty big fan of anything curry, and this sounds delicious. I do get impatient sometimes about browning meat, but you are right, the flavor is so much better when you do!
To brown or not to brown – I am an advocate. Always worth the effort in the flavor department. And as for cooling off, isn’t it a nice change? Thanks Danielle!
This looks perfect Kevin , beef with coconut fit each other perfectly! Gonna try this, pinned!
So good to read this and see you’re still following Farida. I have been so busy I often times don’t have the extra time I used to to review friends’ blogs, although I do get your emails! 🙂
Hey Kevin! Considering it was 28 degrees here this morning, I am definitey up for one pot comfort food! I so agree that dishes like this always taste even better the next day.
I am happy to say it is dark grey outside with a slight chance of drizzle today Dorothy! Dishes like this and the bean and barley soup I have planned for this evening will do nicely. 🙂