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A rich and creamy Hong Kong style beef curry featuring tender beef braised in a lot of aromatics, then cooked with homemade curry paste and coconut milk.

Hong Kong Beef Curry (港式咖喱牛肉)

By Maggie Zhu
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 3 hours
Servings: 8 servings
A rich and creamy Hong Kong style beef curry featuring tender beef braised in a lot of aromatics, then cooked with homemade curry paste and coconut milk.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs beef stew meat , cut into 1.5” pieces (*Footnote 1)
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 star anise pods
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 5 cloves
  • 5 green cardamom pods
  • 6 scallions , cut in half
  • 3 slices ginger
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 cups chicken stock (or water)
  • 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Chu Hou sauce (or hoisin sauce)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 medium yellow onions , diced
  • 4 (1 lb) yukon gold potatoes , peeled and roll cut into 1” pieces
  • 2 (1lb) carrots , peeled and roll cut into 1” pieces
  • 1 cup coconut milk

Curry Paste

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 6 (300 g) shallots
  • 6 garlic cloves
  • 2 tablespoons ginger , roughly minced
  • 2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon mild chili powder (or paprika)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Blanch the meat: Add the beef to a large pot and fill with cold tap water to cover the beef by 1”. Cook over medium-high heat until brought to a boil. Cook for 5 minutes to remove impurities. Strain and rinse the blanched beef with cold water. Drain again and set aside.
  • Braise the Beef: Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat in a large pot until it shimmers. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, bay leaves, cloves and cardamom. Cook until the spices smell fragrant, 1 minute or so. Add the ginger and scallion. Cook until the edges turn golden brown, 2 minutes or so.
  • Add the blanched beef and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock (or water), Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, Chu Hou sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then turn to low heat. Cover, and braise for 1.5 hours.
  • Making the Curry Paste: While the beef is braising, make the curry paste separately. Blend the shallots, garlic, and ginger in a food processor or blender until smooth.
  • Add the oil and the aromatic puree to a cold pan, turn to medium heat. Cook the aromatics for about 12 to 15 minutes, until lightly caramelized (*Footnote 2). If the puree begins to burn, deglaze with 2 tablespoons water, and continue cooking until the water has evaporated
  • Add the curry powder and ground spices with another 2 tablespoons of water. Cook until the curry powder has toasted, about 4 to 5 minutes. The color should be a rich dark brown.
  • Add the curry paste and onion: After 1.5 hours of braising, remove the scallion, ginger and whole spices as much as you can using a pair of tongs (*Footnote 3). Discard the removed spices. Add the curry paste you just made and the onion. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and turn to low heat. Cover and cook for another 15 minutes.
  • Add the vegetables: Add the potatoes and carrots. Cover the pot and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes. Check the pot occasionally. If the broth is still too thin, you can uncover the pot to reduce the broth.
  • Add the coconut milk and adjust the seasoning by adding more salt if needed. Turn off the heat. Serve hot over rice or noodles as a main course.

Notes

  1. You can use a well marbled cut of beef for the braising. Beef shank, brisket and short ribs all work well.
  2. I like to use a Vitamix to puree the aromatics very finely, so the curry has a smooth texture. In this case, the garlic might oxidize and turn blue when you're cooking it. It looks strange but you don’t need to worry! The curry will turn out tasty at the end.
  3. You can remove the beef and strain the broth, which gets you a very clear broth. But I prefer to remove the aromatics using a pair of tongs, which saves a lot of time in comparison.
  4. To make this dish gluten-free: use tamari to replace soy sauce, use dry sherry instead of Shaoxing wine, and use hoisin sauce to replace chu hou sauce.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 410kcal, Carbohydrates: 29.1g, Protein: 35.6g, Fat: 16.9g, Saturated Fat: 6.6g, Cholesterol: 95mg, Sodium: 728mg, Potassium: 1078mg, Fiber: 4.6g, Sugar: 6.7g, Calcium: 44mg, Iron: 22mg