Hot Curry Rice and Beef Bowls

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pound piece flank steak

• 2 tablespoons high temperature oil, such as peanut, canola or safflower
• Salt
• your favorite cooked rice (sticky rice works well, but any rice will do)
• 8-10 shitake mushrooms
• 1 red bell pepper 
• 1 red hot chile pepper (Anthony Keidis is my personal favorite) 
• 4 cloves or garlic, grated or chopped
• 4 to 5 green onions, thinly sliced on an angle
• 3 tablespoons Patak's curry paste, mild to medium heat
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce (or you could use hoisin, oyster or soy sauce, depending on the flavour that you are going for) 
• 1 cup chicken stock
• OPTIONAL 1 lime, zested and juiced
• Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Put the flank steak in the freezer for a few minutes to aid in thinly slicing safely.
2. Cook your rice to your personal preference. Note that it takes about 10-15 minutes to cook the steak, so you may have to start your rice earlier.
3. While your rice cooks, stem and thinly slice the mushrooms, and seed and thinly slice the sweet and hot peppers.
4. Remove the meat from the freezer and thinly slice into 1/4-inch wide by 2-inch pieces.
5. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook in a single layer for 2 to 3 minutes.
6. Turn the meat over and add shitakes, the peppers, the garlic and the green onions. Stir-fry 2 to 3 minutes, then add the curry paste, fish sauce and stock and bring to a boil.
7. Serve with rice, and garnish with lime juice and zest if you like.Season with some black pepper, to taste.

Cooking Notes:

1. 
   
   Rachael ray does a version of this and adds some edamame and the end of the steak's cook time. Her version also calls for this to be served with noodles (she uses whole wheat spaghetti). I have tried this, and it is good, but I like the rice because it soaks up all of the yummy curry sauce. The picture below is of the version with noodles instead of rice.