Slow Cooker Beef Randang with Jasmine Rice

Don’t be intimidated by the name or ingredients. Trust me…this is the ultimate curry dish to warm you up on a cool night. Randang is a Malaysian beef curry that is truly PACKED with flavor—unsurprising, once you see all the spices and herbs in this dish. Try to find a good Asian market to source some of the ingredients, like the fresh lemongrass stalks, and to keep the price down.

– Jilly Lagasse

Ingredients

2 large stalks of fresh lemongrass, any rough, brown outer leaves discarded
1 yellow onion, peeled and roughly chopped
4 green onions, trimmed and roughly chopped
6 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons ginger paste or a 2-centimeter piece of fresh ginger, peeled
3 red chilies, roughly chopped (more or less depending on heat preference)
2 teaspoons nuoc mam (fish sauce)
3 tablespoons sunflower or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons ground coriander
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2½ pounds good-quality beef stew meat
2 whole cinnamon sticks or ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Zest and juice of 1 lime
One 13.5-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
Salt to taste
Steamed Jasmine rice for serving
Fresh cilantro to garnish, if desired

Directions

First prepare the lemongrass. On a cutting board, using a wooden spoon or the back of a heavy knife, whack the lemongrass stalks a few times all over to release the flavor and natural oils. Then roughly chop the stalks, discarding the ends.

Place the lemongrass, onions, garlic, ginger, chilies and fish sauce into a food processor or NutriBullet and pulse until a thick paste forms. This will become the curry paste.

Heat the oil in a large wok or sauté pan on medium heat. Add the curry paste, ground coriander, cumin and turmeric to the pan and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until fragrant, stirring often.

Next add all of the stew meat to the pan and cook for a further 4 minutes to seal the meat.

Transfer the mixture into your slow cooker. Add the cinnamon sticks, lime zest and juice, coconut milk, sugar and a pinch of salt to taste.

Give everything a good stir and ensure all the meat is covered in the curry sauce.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.

To serve, discard the cinnamon sticks and serve with steamed Jasmine rice and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro to garnish, if desired.

Preparation time: 20 minutes . Cooking time: 4-8 hours .

Nutritional analysis for recipes is created using Food Processor SQL nutrition and fitness software by ESHA. Recipes are analyzed per serving (unless otherwise indicated) for calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates, fiber and protein. Nutrient amounts are approximate due to variations in brands, manufacturer, preparation and ingredient substitutions. When ingredient choices are listed, we use the first one. Nonspecific amounts, for example "to taste," and garnishes are not included.