Ian Kittichai's recipe for beef penang

While visiting Abu Dhabi to cook at the InterContinental, the Thai celebrity chef Ian Kittichai showed us how to cook a classic Beef Penang. Follow our step-by-step photo guide.

5. Add the beef and the fish sauce to the curry sauce, making sure the fillets are generously coated, and heat through briefly.

Beef penang (Serves 6)

Ingredients

6 x 150g pieces beef fillet
3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
450ml coconut milk
50g penang curry paste
(shop bought or home-made)
1 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
6 kaffir lime leaves
150g baby spinach
2 tbsp fish sauce
6 tbsp coconut cream
salt and black pepper

To serve
Steamed white rice

Method

Season the beef fillet all over with salt and black pepper. Heat a flat plate to high or place a large frying pan over a high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and cook the beef for 2-3 minutes on each side or until nicely browned (depending on how big your frying pan is, you may need to do this in batches). Set the meat aside to rest.

When it is stored in a tin, coconut milk separates naturally into two layers, milk and cream. Carefully pour the thicker layer (the cream) into a saucepan and place over a medium heat. Add the curry paste and use the back of a spoon to blend the two ingredients together. Stir frequently and cook for 3-4 minutes or until a layer of red oil appears; the sauce will look as though it has split, which is correct.

Add the remaining coconut milk to the pan, followed by the palm sugar. Stir well and cook for a further 8-10 minutes over a fairly vigorous heat; you're looking to reduce the sauce so that it's quite thick.

Slice the kaffir lime leaves into thin strips, discarding the stalks. When you are almost ready to serve, place another saucepan containing a tablespoon of vegetable oil over a medium heat. Add the spinach, season with salt and black pepper and cook for 20 seconds.

As soon as the spinach starts to wilt, remove the pan from the heat.

Add the fish sauce and beef to the pan containing the curry sauce and heat through briefly. Make sure the beef is well coated with the sauce.

Divide the spinach between six serving plates, top with the beef fillet and finish with a spoonful of coconut cream and a sprinkling of shredded kaffir lime leaves.

Serve with steamed white rice.