Easy Beef Panang!

I used Maesri-brand Panang curry paste, and  followed the cooking directions on the can…mostly! This recipe serves 5-6 people. I like to double the recipe, because I have an addiction!

For anyone who has never tried Thai before, you aren’t doing this whole ‘living’ right. That’s okay, though. This recipe will fix that!

This dish is the culmination of my year-long Thai obsession. My mom bribed me with a trip to my favorite Thai restaurant after each of the ACT tests that I had to endure in 2017. I had to earn that Thai! So, this inspired me to find a less painful way to get my hands on some Thai food.

Beef Panang is my mom’s favorite Thai dish, so naturally it was the first one that I learned to make. This article is the product of some epic – if salvageable – goofs in the kitchen. I hope you enjoy learning from my mistakes as much as I have!

(Prep Time: 20-25 minutes)

Ingredient List:

6 Tbsp. of Panang curry paste —We get ours at an Asian market. It is available online, but is significantly more expensive. It comes in one-recipe cans, like in the first picture, or in 2 lb. buckets, like the two that my mom brought home today.

1 bell pepper — I like green for lively coloring in the dish, but any color tastes fantastic.

Approx. 1 lb. of meat — I prefer to use beef sirloin in this dish, but it is very good with beef chuck or chicken, as well.

1 can of coconut milk — It may have separated while in the can, but don’t worry! Just stir it into the recipe normally, and it will melt and mix.

3 Kaffir lime leaves — These are special Thai lime leaves. The Kaffir lime leaves are what really rockets this recipe to restaurant-quality. If you can’t find them, or just don’t want to, the recipe is still fantastic without them! You may be able to find them in Asian markets. I ordered a bag of them online for a good price and froze most of them to use as needed.

First, I assembled all of the ingredients and prepared them.

I cut the bell peppers, and beef, then used scissors to cut the Kaffir lime leaves. Make sure to cut the beef into very thin slices, so that it will cook easily.

Add the beef, peppers and remaining coconut milk and stir until the beef is cooked, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the Kaffir lime leaves and, if desired, some more bell peppers. I am of the opinion that more bell pepper is always a good idea, but if you don’t want the extra Vitamin C, that’s on you.

Serve over white rice.

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do!

If you have any questions or concerns, please leave a comment and I will be happy to help you out.