There are not that many people, who grow their own produce on our island, Virgin Gorda. You would think, with all the sun and water we have around here we would be able to grow everything. Unfortunately, that is not the case.
From what I understand, there are 2 major reasons for that. (1) The soil of Virgin Gorda is too thin and (2) the water we use is distilled from the ocean and even though we couldn’t taste the salt in it, some plants could. I learned this from my friend Roman, who is the botanist of a hotel’s nursery on the island. Originally from Dominica, he knows a lot about growing and taking care of plants. In his nursery, Roman mostly grows plants for the landscape of the hotel. However, in a little corner, he also grows some fresh foods like scallions, eggplants, fresh herbs, and peppers. That is why, last week when I decided to make this Thai Beef Curry dish, I could only think of one place to find fresh lemon grass. Luckily, Roman had it in his nursery. After a quick trip over there, thanks to Roman, I came home with enough lemon grass to feed an army.
About the Recipe
Truth be told, what makes this Thai Beef Curry dish is the addition of fresh lemon grass to the curry paste. The refreshing flavor that it gives to the end product is truly amazing. To use in this dish, I first washed them under water until they are free of any soil. Then I bashed the white part of 1 stalk and chopped the green parts of 2 stalks. I added the white part into the curry mixture and the green parts (leaves) in to the slow cooker with all the other stuff.
As a side note, making this dish could not be easier. All you have to do is to quickly sear the meat, make the curry, and put everything in your slow cooker. After 7 hours of cooking in low heat, you have a delicious Beef Curry with all the heavenly flavors of the Thai cuisine.
