Spicy Thai Beef Curry

This week's new recipe isn't actually from a book, but from one of those heavy magazines Fine Cooking puts out every now and then, when it thinks I'm not spending enough money or something. This was a very quick and easy recipe to put together. All of that coconut milk does make it on the indulgent side, though! It also cuts the spice considerably--I only used one tsp of curry paste and probably should have used two.

1 Tbs. vegetable oil
1-1/2 lb. beef sirloin tips
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots (about 2 medium-large)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh ginger
1 to 2 tsp. Thai red curry paste
1/2 cup low-salt canned chicken broth
1 13-1/2-oz. can unsweetened coconut milk
1 Tbs. fish sauce
1-1/2 cups frozen sugar snap peas
1 large lime, zest finely grated and fruit cut into wedges
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a 10-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium-high heat. Season the sirloin tips with salt and pepper and sear the meat in batches until nicely browned on two sides, 1 to 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate.
2. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the shallots to the pan and cook until just tender and lightly browned, 2 to 4 min. Add the ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 min. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1/4 cup of the broth, scraping up any bits that are stuck to the pan. Add 1/3 cup of the coconut milk, stirring until the curry paste has blended in completely. Stir in the remaining coconut milk and broth. Add the fish sauce.
3. Increase the heat to medium high. Return the beef to the pan (along with any juices), stir, and simmer until the meat is just cooked through, 8 to 12 min.
4. Take the pan off the heat. Remove the meat and transfer to a cutting board. Stir the sugar snap peas into the sauce and cover the pan. Let the meat rest for 1 min., then slice it thinly across the grain; return it to the pan along with the lime zest. If necessary, return the pan to medium heat until the peas are thawed and  heated through.
5. Portion the curry into four warm bowls, sprinkle with the cilantro, and serve with the lime wedges. Serve over jasmine rice.

We spent a quiet pre-Valentine's Day out at the Worcester Art Museum, then had dinner at local destination restaurant The Sole Proprietor while Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids.

I am working my way through the crits I've gotten for Book 1, making some changes to the story but nothing heavy--yet. The second half will probably need more work, but I am still thinking about what I can do to punch up the plot. The revised first chapters are back in the queue at critters.org, and I hope to be getting feedback in early March.