Thai beef curry

This was another less than stellar cooking weekend, but I did manage to make one dish... which, coincidentally, also turned out to be less than stellar. I found an interesting recipe for a Thai beef curry yesterday morning and I eagerly headed out in search of ingredients. I didn't manage to track down all of them, and somewhere along the way I lost interest in others... along with my enthusiasm for this dish. So I can't say how the recipe would really turn out... you know, if someone actually followed it.

Thai beef curry
adapted from this recipe

900 g beef, roughly cubed
3 tbsp massaman curry paste (I subbed red curry paste)
10 black cardamom seeds
2 cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
2 jumbo shallots, cut into rough chunks
3 c Asian vegetable broth (thank you freezer!)
faux-conut powder
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 Yukon gold potatoes, roughly chopped
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
Thai basil
unsalted, roasted peanuts

Saute the whole spices in some oil, then add the shallots and saute them until they start to brown. Coat the beef in the red curry paste and add it to the pot to let that sear. (At this point my nose started to burn from the heat -- I started wondering whether the hot red curry paste was a good choice in this dish.) Add the broth, the faux-conut, the fish sauce, and enough water to cover the beef. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer on low for 1 1/2 hrs. Add the veggies and tamarind paste and cook for another half hour. (At this point I tried the broth and it needed a bit more oomph -- I used more faux-conut and more curry paste -- turns out it wasn't too hot after all.) Serve on rice with peanuts and more Thai basil on top.

It was... okay. The original recipe called for two cans of coconut milk, but I chose to go the faux-conut route instead -- I'm sure that this would've been much tastier if I'd used the delicious (yet deadly) coconut milk. I added some lime pickle to jazz it up a bit, and it tasted just fine. Can't really recommend my version of the recipe, but the original still sounds rather lovely, doesn't it? :-) Now, off to the gym...