Serves 6

Ingredients
For the Thai jasmine rice
340 g Thai fragrant rice
340 ml water

For the curry

600 ml coconut milk
15 –45ml (0.5–1.5floz) red curry paste
45 ml fish sauce
30 ml palm sugar or soft brown sugar
2 stalks of fresh lemongrass, bruised
450 g rump steak, cut into thin strips
75 g roasted peanuts, finely chopped or pulsed in a food processor
1 –2 red chillies, sliced
5 kaffir lime leaves, torn – fresh are best, but otherwise use dried
1 pinch each of flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 –15 Thai basil leaves (optional)

Step-by-step
Start by cooking the rice. Put the rice and water into a heavy-based saucepan and
bring to the boil. Stir once, cover with a tight-fitting lid (if your lid isn’t
tight-fitting, cover the pan first with tin foil and then with the lid).
Reduce the heat to the absolute minimum – use a heat diffuser mat, if possible.
Cook on the lowest possible heat for 15 minutes. Do not uncover during cooking.
Remove the pan from the heat, keeping it covered, and set aside for 5 minutes
before serving. The rice will stay warm for several hours if necessary.
To make the curry, pour half of the coconut milk into a wok and cook over a medium
heat, stirring, until the milk boils and separates – it will look curdled, but
don’t worry.
Whisk in the red curry paste and cook until fragrant and aromatic, about 3–4
minutes. Add the fish sauce, palm sugar or brown sugar and lemongrass.
Continue to cook over a gentle heat for a few minutes before adding the rest of the
coconut milk. Bring back to the boil.
Add the strips of beef and the peanuts, stir and cook gently for 6–7 minutes or
until most of the liquid has evaporated. Be careful not to overcook the beef. If
necessary, you can remove the meat with a slotted spoon after the allotted cooking
time and return the pan to the heat to reduce the sauce down further.
Add the meat back to the pan, if necessary, and throw in the chillies and lime
leaves. Season to taste and remove the lemongrass.
Serve with the Thai fragrant rice, garnished with Thai basil leaves, if using.