Thai Curry Beef and Coconut Rice

Today is my husband's birthday; he is officially OLD (just kidding, honey). In honor of my beloved, I made one of his favorite dishes for dinner tonight: Thai Curry Beef and Coconut Rice. Coconut milk is gluten free, and it makes a great base for the curry sauce. By the way, you can use chicken instead of beef if you're staying away from red meat.

Thai Curry Beef

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lbs. of beef for stir-fry
1 red pepper, julienned
1 yellow onion, sliced into half-moons
a handful of cilantro, chopped
1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk
1/2 to 1 Tbs. red curry paste*
1/2 cup frozen peas
3 Tbs. Fish sauce (available in the ethnic foods aisle of your market)
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1/4 cup chicken stock

In a large saucepan, combine coconut milk and curry paste and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the fish sauce, brown sugar, chicken stock, and beef. Allow to cook for about 10 minutes. Add the vegetables (reserve cilantro for garnish) and cook for about 5 minutes more, or until beef is cooked and veggies have reached desired tenderness. Top with cilantro. Serve with coconut rice (see below).

*Let your taste preferences be your guide when using curry paste. We like our food spicier here, so I use a full Tbs.; you can get away with less and still get great flavor. Personally, I would not use more than 1 Tbs. for this dish. If you want it spicier, you may want to add hot peppers to this dish.

Coconut Rice

Ingredients:
2 cups Jasmine Rice
1 13.5 oz. can coconut milk, plus enough water to equal 3 cups of liquid
1 tsp. salt

Bring coconut milk, water, and salt to a boil in pot. Add the jasmine rice and bring back up to a boil. Cover and turn the burner down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve.