Help with Thai Style Ground Beef

[bwillia]

So, after all the rave reviews of the Thai style ground beef recipe on CL, I want to make it tonight. I went grocery shopping this morning, and my store does not have any red curry paste. Any suggestions on substitutions? Also I've never cooked leeks before - could I just leave them out or is there a substitution that works well? Wasn't sure if they are essential to the dish. Thanks!

[tbb113]

Cooking with leeks is simple. I handle them like huge green onions. I slice off some off the green top and slice off the root. Then I usually cut it in half lengthwise (or quarters if it is really big). Slice horizontally into small pieces and wash well. You could sub onions if you want but leeks have a gentler taste.

Can't help you on the red curry paste sub...but there are recipes to make your own if you look on foodsubs.com But...if you can't find red curry paste, I doubt you can find the ingredients needed to make it either

[MaryH]

You can sub green onion or regular onion for leek. As for the curry paste, you could sub chili garlic paste. It'll be a little different, but probably still good.

[ClaraB]

I wouldn't sub chili garlic paste alone for red curry paste (which is milder than green curry paste) - it would be too hot without having any curry taste. I've subbed a good quality curry powder for red curry paste, with good results.

[Angelina]

I wouldn't sub chili garlic paste alone for red curry paste (which is milder than green curry paste) - it would be too hot without having any curry taste. I've subbed a good quality curry powder for red curry paste, with good results.

But don't curry powder and red/green curry paste have totally different flavors?

Angela

[ClaraB]

But don't curry powder and red/green curry paste have totally different flavors?

AngelaIt depends on if you use Thai or Indian curry paste. I've never cared for Thai curry paste, since I find it way too hot for my taste, but Indian curry paste has a flavor pretty similar to curry powder (although different kinds of curry powder can also have wildly different flavors), although I think it's a bit deeper and richer.

[bwillia]

So I don't have ingredients to make my own red curry paste, but I do have curry powder, red curry powder, and hot chile garlic sauce. The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon red curry paste. I was thinking about doing a combination of a little red curry powder and hot sauce. Any suggestions? Who knows if it will work! Crazy that grocery stores in San Francisco don't have curry paste!

[bwillia]

So, even without red curry paste, it turned out fantastic! I used some red curry powder and hot chile sauce, and it tasted fine to me. Also used onion instead of leeks. Served it over rice and topped with cilantro. Is a definite repeater!