Slow Cooker Beef Curry Noodles
Ingredients
3 lbs boneless beef shank, cut into 2-inch cubes
3 tablespoons fish sauce, divided
2 tablespoons brown sugar or 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar
One 4-ounce can (1/2 cup) red curry paste (I use the whole can; if your heat tolerance is lower, you can use half or ¾ of a can. Watch out if you use red curry paste that comes in a plastic tub; it tends to be much spicier than the type that comes in a can.)
2 heaping tablespoons of Madras-style curry powder (If I can’t find a Thai brand, I use Roland.)
1 tablespoon turmeric powder (This is kind of optional since there’s already turmeric in the curry powder. But additional turmeric results in a curry with more vibrant color.)
2 cups water
One 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
One large shallots, peeled and thinly-sliced lengthwise
About 1/2 lb bean sprouts
About 1/2 lb green beans, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
About 8 ounces of dried flat rice noodles
4-6 large eggs
Instructions
About 10-12 hours before you plan to eat this dish, put the beef, red curry paste, curry powder, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, brown sugar, and turmeric in your slow cooker; stir until the beef cubes are thoroughly coated with the seasonings. Pour the water on top. Turn on the slow cooker and set to low (250°F). Leave the slow cooker on, undisturbed, for 10-12 hours.
About half an hour before the cooking time for the beef ends, soak the dried noodles.
At this point, open the coconut milk can, and gently stir the coconut milk into the beef mixture along with the remaining fish sauce; set the cooker to either the lowest setting or warm.
Now, boil the eggs to desired level of doneness.
While the eggs are boiling, make crispy fried shallots. Put the oil and sliced shallot in an unheated small pan. Place the pan on medium heat and stir almost constantly. The shallots will sizzle slowly then turn crispy and golden brown in about 5-7 minutes (keep an eye on them; they burn easily). Once that’s done, transfer the fried shallots to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
By this time, the eggs should be done. Remove them from heat.
Put lots of water into a large pot and bring it to a boil.
While waiting for the water to boil, peel and halve the eggs; set aside.
Once the water is boiling, blanch the bean sprouts and sliced green beans separately; set aside.
In the same pot of boiling water, blanch the noodles until they’re soft enough to eat (but don’t overcook!), drain, and divide the noodles among 4-6 serving bowls.
Divide the blanched bean sprouts and green beans equally among the bowls. Spoon the beef curry over the noodles and vegetables. Arrange the eggs on top. Sprinkle the reserved fried shallots over the whole thing.
Serve immediately with extra fish sauce, limes, and red pepper flakes on the table for people to season their noodles to taste.