Thai Beef Curry Noodles

The Paste

• 5 large red chillies
• 5-10 Rajah dried red chillies, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
• 4 Thai Shallots / 1 red onion for swapsies
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 30g chopped galangal / ginger 
• 2 stalks of lemongrass 
• 1cm piece of fresh turmeric / 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp shrimp paste (optional)
• handful coriander root
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
•  

The Curry Broth

• ½ recipe of the curry paste above
• 1 can Lotus coconut milk
• 1kg Beef shin / beef brisket / Beef leg, diced
• 1L chicken stock
• 4 lime leaves
• 3 pods Rajah black cardamom
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar
• 2 nests of No1 Lucky Boat Noddles
• Wonton skins (to cut and deep fry)
• Handful coriander to garnish
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Handful pickled mustard greens

PREPARATION

The paste:

Finely chop the paste ingredients and add to a pestle and mortal (excluding the lime leaves and cardamon). Bash for 15-20 minutes until a smooth paste forms. You can also do this in a food processor. 

COOKING

Place a ladle of oil in the wok and bring it up to a high heat. Add 4 tbsp of the paste, initially on a high heat, but quickly turn it down once the paste is in. Keep stirring to prevent burning for 5 – 8 mins, cooking through until it turns to a caramelised colour. Any leftover paste can be frozen. 

Now add the lime leaves and cardamon, along with the beef. Once the beef is browned, add the coconut milk slowly, allowing it to bubble up as you add. Now add the chicken stock. Bring everything to a boil, then turn it down to simmer for 3 hours. 

Seasoning:

After 3 hours, add 3-4 Tbsp of fish sauce and 1 Tbsp palm sugar.  

The noodles:

Deep fry the wonton skins on a high heat, until crisp. Set aside. 

Boil then egg noodles on a rolling boil. Once soft and floating at top of water (1 min), take out and place straight into a bowl. Serve the beef and stock over the top, and top with the fried noodles, lime wedges and pickled veg.