Malaysian Beef (or Chicken) Stew in Coconut Cream

After a long day at the office, I wanted to do something simple with what I had at hand. This was the result. Fast, easy but tasty.

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 pound stewing beef, cut into small cubes. (You can also use chicken.)

2 onions, sliced

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 sticks of lemon grass, cut into 2 inch pieces

¼ - ½ package of Malaysian curry powder (a mixture of chili, turmeric, lemon grass, galangal, cloves, star anise, cinnamon, ginger and salt)

2 large potatoes, peeled and diced

1 large aubergine, diced

1 heaping tablespoon palm sugar or dark brown sugar

1 good shake (1-2  tablespoons) of Soy sauce

2 handfuls dried apricots

14 ounce can of coconut cream

Juice of 2 limes (or lemons)

½ cup green beans, cleaned and broken into 2 inch pieces

1 cup of hot water or bullion

• In the olive oil, in the bottom of a heavy cooking pot, stir fry the garlic, making sure it does not burn
• Add the onions and stir fry till translucent
• Turn up the heat and add the Malaysian curry powder, cook stirring to release the flavors
• Add the meat and stir fry until it is browned all over. Reduce the heat to moderate.
• Add half of the coconut cream, stir well and simmer for 5 minutes
• Add approx. 1 cup hot water or bullion to thin the sauce.
• Add the lemon grass, the palm sugar, the soy sauce, the lime juice – and stir. (If you have halved and squeezed the lemons/limes, you can throw in the skin (the halves of the fruit) to simmer in the stew
• Add the aubergine cubes, the potato cubes, and the dried apricots
• Add the remaining coconut cream and enough hot water to cover all the vegetables, and simmer for an hour or more, until the meat is tender and potatoes are cooked.
• 10 minutes prior to serving, toss in the cleaned green beans. You want the beans to remain crunchy.
• Taste and adjust the seasoning – more salt or soy, or more sugar, a small chopped hot chili if this is not spicy enough for you.
•  Serve on top of rice.