Beef Satay Curry

This Beef Satay Curry is fresh, rich and creamy, packed with vegetables and easy to make.  It has tender slices of beef dunked in lightly spiced sauce that’s a cross between a moreish peanut sauce and a delicious thai red curry.   

Why Make This Recipe? 

• Simple everyday ingredients, many of which are pantry staples 
• You can get it on the table in under 30 minutes 
• Easy to adjust the level of spiciness up or down 
• Its versatile – easily swap out the beef for chicken instead 
• Use whatever veges you have on hand 
• Have it with rice or noodles or keep it low carb with Cauliflower Rice 
• Its sweet, savoury and spicy all at the same time 

You might of heard of peanut satay or peanut sauce and be wondering how is this different.  This satay curry with beef is creamier,  there’s a lot more sauce, and the meat and vegetables are in the sauce like you’d see in a curry.   Or maybe you'd like to check out my Chicken Satay Curry.

Ingredients

Satay Curry Sauce

Meat and Vegetables

Ingredient Notes 

1. Meat:  I like using rump steak (Sirloin)  as its nice and tender and not to fatty.  (This is also what I use in my Slow Cooker Steak Ramen Noodles). Alternatively you could also use a Brisket or any other good cut of beef.  I tend to not recommend the cheaper cuts of beef for this recipe as they're not designed for this type pf cooking and are better suited to slower cooking techniques. 

2. Peanut Butter:  I recommend Natural Peanut Butter or Sugar Free Peanut Butter.  Basically one that has only peanuts listed on the ingredient label.  There are many brands to choose from and Natural and Sugar Free varieties are available from Coles and Woolworths in the aisle in amongst all the peanut butters 

3. Granulated Sweetener:  I love using Monkfruit Sweetener – a natural Low GI, almost zero sweetener that measures just like sugar.  Its available from Coles and Woolworths in the Baking Aisle. 

4. Soy Sauce:  Regular soy sauce can be substituted for Light Soy sauce.  If using Tamari, you may need to add a little extra to get the right level of seasoning as Tamari is typically less salty than soy sauce and the saltiness is important in creating that satay flavour.  

5. Lime:  Lime juice from a bottle can be substituted from fresh lime juice.  Alternatively, if you don’t have lime juice, you can use lemon juice.  It will have minimal impact on the flavour. 

6. Garlic and Ginger:  Whilst you can’t beat the taste of fresh crushed garlic or fresh grated ginger, if you don’t have access to this, using the garlic and ginger that comes in a jar is a great alternative. 

7. Curry Paste:  If you don’t have Thai red curry paste, a yellow curry paste, panang curry paste or even a korma paste would work.   

8. Chilli Paste:  There are several varieties of chilli paste available in the supermarket.  Sambel Olek is a Malaysian variety found in the Asian food aisle.  Standard Chilli Paste I tend to find in Coles and Woolworths where the spices are.  

How to Make 

1. Prepare Beef:  Add thinly sliced  beef strips, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic and 1 teaspoon chilli paste and  mix together. Cover and set aside  to marinate whilst the sauce is made. 

2. Saute Garlic, Ginger and Chilli Paste: Add 1 tablespoon each of  crushed garlic, chilli paste and grated ginger to a pot on medium high heat and stir for a minute until fragrant. 

3. Make the Base of the Satay Curry Sauce:  Add the peanut butter, curry paste, sweetener, soy, salt and lime juice. Stir for a minute to mix together so that a thick dark paste is formed. 

4. Add Coconut Milk and Finish Sauce:  Drizzle in coconut milk a little bit at a time, stirring in continuously until all  added and satay sauce is smooth and creamy.  Cover and set aside. 

5. Cook Beef: Heat a wok on high heat and add the coconut oil.  Add beef strips and cook through, moving around the wok continuously with a spoon. 

6. Add Veges to Wok:  Add capsicums (or peppers if using), shallots/green onions, and green beans.   Cook for 3 mins or until the just begin to soften. 

7. Add Curry Sauce to Wok:  Pour satay curry sauce over meat and vegetables and stir through with a spoon until  covered.  Heat for 2 mins on medium heat and then remove. 

8. Serve immediately with Cauliflower rice, and garnish to your liking with additional fresh shallots/green onions, fried shallots (for crunch and texture), and finely diced coriander (for freshness)  

Expert Tips 

• More Spicy:  Sprinkle dried red chilli flakes on to serve, or add finely diced red chilli to serve 
• Less Spicy:  Omit the chilli paste in the marination of the beef (just use garlic instead).  You can also omit the chilli paste in the sauce.  It will still taste great, just without any heat. 
• Alternative Vegetables to Use:  Vegetables that cook quickly will work well, such as chopped zucchini or carrots, diced pumpkin, chopped beans, even baby spinach would work.   
• Satay Curry Sauce To Thin:  Make a cornflour slurry using 1 tablespoon of water, and 1 tablespoon of tap water mixed in a small dish, then add to the sauce whilst its still on high heat and stir through.  It will thicken very quickly 
• Satay Curry Sauce To Thick:  Add a little water, a tablespoon at a time to loosen 
• How To Make it Less Saucy:  I would suggest to still make the full amount of sauce, and then only use half.  Store the other half in an air tight container or jar in the fridge and use within 5 days. 
• How To Store:  Store leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge without rice as it will soak up too much of the sauce 
• Freezing:   Portion out any leftovers into freezer friendly containers and freeze for upto 8 weeks, without rice.  Make sure to label and date your containers so you know whats in them and when it needs to be eaten by. 
• Reheating:  Put into fridge overnight to defrost, and reheat in a pot on the stove for 5 or so minutes.  Or reheat from frozen in the microwave.   

Your Questions Answered 

My Favourite Side

Frozen cauliflower rice is so convenient, especially if you're looking for a low carb side option and don't have time to make it from scratch. This cooks in a jug with the lid on in the microwave for 4 minutes and its perfect every time. Plus no wastage.

Buy it in the frozen food section of Coles and Woolworths in Australia.

This satay curry is a fresh and lively healthy Asian dinner recipe that you can get on the table in 30 minutes.  It serves 4 people,  is freezer friendly, and you can even swap out the beef strips for chicken strips to make a chicken satay stirfry.   

More Asian recipes

• Quick Szechuan Style Beef and Greens (Low Carb!)
• Clean Eating Butter Chicken
• Clean Eating Thai Green Curry
• Apricot Chicken Curry Casserole
• Pressure Cooker Massaman Beef