Heat a large sauté pan, add one-third of the coconut milk and leave it to bubble rapidly for 10 seconds, this will thicken it slightly. Add the curry paste and stir through, mixing well. Cook for 30 seconds, then add the aubergines, stir-fry for 2 minutes, pour in the rest of the coconut milk, and then the stock.Simmer really gently with a lid on for 1 hour, or until the beef is soft.
Remove the lid and add the tomatoes and green beans, simmer for 10 minutes. Taste the sauce, sharpen a little with lime and add a little more fish sauce if the flavour needs lifting.
Remove from the heat and leave to stand for 5 minutes- finish with Thai basil leaves and a squeeze of lime. Serve with rice.
400ml can coconut milk
2 heaped tablespoons red Thai curry paste (look up recipe on our site)
10 little purple aubergines, or ½ a medium regular one, diced
200ml good stock, we used light beef stock/ot Baxters Beef consomme
600g lean braising beef
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
200g green beans, trimmed and cut in half
5 kaffir lime leaves, rolled up and shredded
To finish
6 – 10 stems of Thai sweet basil
1 lime