In response to the beef pleas I posted in earlier blogs, a friend, Tammy, suggested I take that blasted (my word, not hers) coconut vinegar, along with all the spices, and marinate the damn (again, my word, not hers) beef for a couple of days. As soon as I read it, I hit my head against our brick wall. Hard. Drew blood. It made a pretty picture until it faded to ugly brown. Kinda like those Rorschack tests. No, that’s a butterfly. But that one, that one’s definitely a vampire. Oh, cool, you’ve got the splitting image of Death. Uh. . .
But seriously, how could I not even think about it? How silly am I? So, Tammy, thanks for stating the obvious, especially when the obvious obviously isn’t obvious enough. And thanks also for providing me with a legitimate opportunity to throw four obvious’s into the same sentence without it looking at all awkward.
Hot and Sour Beef Curry
1/2 cup coconut toddy vinegar
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon curry
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons crushed pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon pepper
beef – marinated for several hours (beef was all we had in the freezer, and I was pressed for time, so, uh, yeah. Only marinated a couple of hours.), then cooked with
4 cloves garlic (yeah, yeah, should have been added to the marinade. I know, I know. sheesh.)
3 onion shoots
1 teaspoon salt.
Because I used so much vinegar, it became sour, hence the whole "Hot and Sour Beef Curry" bit. I liked it, but I have no idea if Fahim did or not. He tends to not give me feedback on what I cook unless I ask. And even then, I get a grunt and "good". What, we’re living in caves again?
But the good news is that the beef was more tender. However, it would be even better marinated for a day or two, not a couple of hours. Next time.
Vegetable Curry.
Well, as for vegetable curry, I think you’re getting the general idea, and really, do I need to keep posting what I put in them every single time? Basically, toss in a little bit of oh, half a dozen vegetables, season with salt, pepper, curry powder, chili powder, and pepper flakes to taste, cook with oil and add water, cook long enough that the vegetables are cooked as hard or mushy as you prefer them, but make sure you add enough water so you have some sauce in the bottom of the pan – it helps to flavor the rice. And that’s pretty much it. I mean, seriously, it ain’t complicated, folks.
One huge benefit of the vegetable curry is that you get to have a wide variety of vegetables, and we’ve been told that a wide variety is the key to getting all the essential vitamins and minerals, plus you can add some things that perhaps the hubby or the kids don’t particularly like, and they probably won’t notice in amongst everything else. Or chop it up small enough that they can’t possibly pick it out. Or something like that. Me, I don’t like turnips, rutabagas, cauliflower, or the like, but in a curry? It’s perfectly fine. The flavor gets covered up with curry and whatnot, so my taste buds are fooled.
Hey, whatever works.
