When Sarah and I were in school, weekends sometimes entailed trips to Chinatown (Manhattan, natch) to visit relatives. When we rolled through Chinatown’s main thoroughfares, we always made a trip to Great NY Noodletown for a couple of orders of Beef Curry over rice.
The sauce was deliciously glossy with an intense aromatic curry flavor, and the beef was always perfectly tender, with a few pieces of choice tendon thrown in (hey–you say, “ew,” we say, “more please”). However, that beef curry involves long TLC sessions standing over a bubbling pot or what can be scary run-ins with pressure-cookers–take it from us, we’ve got our own Hong Kong style Beef Curry recipe.
Well, this recipe for Easy Curry Beef Rice Bowls takes that delicious, slow-cooked flavor and distills it into something that is fast, easy, and just as flavorful and comforting. Ground beef cuts the cooking time and keeping things small with diced potatoes ensures you’re feasting on authentic-tasting curry before long.
If you’re already a fan of our Cantonese Beef Rice Bowls, our Gyudon (Japanese Beef & Rice Bowls), or our Bulgogi Bowls, add this one to your repertoire!
Recipe Instructions
In a skillet or wok, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent and just slightly caramelized.
Add the potatoes.
Let cook for 10 minutes, turning the heat down if the potatoes are crisping too much.
Add the ground beef, breaking it up with a spatula, and cook the beef until browned.
Next, add the curry powder, turmeric, cumin, sugar, black pepper, and salt. Stir to combine.
Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing the beef broth with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Add it to the beef mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes until the entire mixture has thickened.
You’ll know it’s ready when there’s no more pooling liquid––just a very viscous curry beef!
Add the peas (if using).
Let the entire mixture simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Season with additional salt to taste, if necessary.
Spoon over a bed of rice to serve this easy curry beef bowl!
Easy Curry Beef Rice Bowls
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 large onion (finely diced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 large russet potato (cut into a ½-inch dice)
- 1 pound ground beef (450g)
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- 1½ teaspoons turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ cups beef broth (350 ml)
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 cup peas (optional)
Instructions
- In a skillet or wok, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and cook until translucent and just slightly caramelized. Add the potatoes. Let cook for 10 minutes, turning the heat down if the potatoes are crisping too much.
- Add the ground beef, breaking it up with a spatula, and cook the beef until browned. Next, add the curry powder, turmeric, cumin, sugar, black pepper, and salt. Stir to combine.
- Make a cornstarch slurry by mixing the beef broth with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Add it to the beef mixture and bring to a boil. Simmer for a few minutes until the entire mixture has thickened. You’ll know it’s ready when there’s no more pooling liquid––just a very viscous curry beef!
- Add the peas (if using). Let the entire mixture simmer, covered, for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are fork tender. Season with additional salt to taste, if necessary. Spoon over a bed of rice to serve!
nutrition facts
This recipe didn’t work well for me. I was really hoping it would with all the good reviews! There was a bitter taste in the curry and I wasn’t sure why. Best guess is too much cumin? In the end I had to add more salt and sugar to cut the bitter flavor.
I would also recommend others to season the beef with a little salt and pepper while browning the beef. While the sauce was too flavorful, the beef had no flavor.
Hi Diana, bitter curry dishes usually mean that the curry was burned or scorched, so be careful about cooking the curry too long without liquid or other ingredients.
1 tsp salt too salty. Suggest pinch of salt and saute the potatoes separately and add to the beef mixture when done. Thank you
Thanks for the feedback, Hoy! Definitely feel free to adjust the salt in any of our recipes to taste. We use sea salt in all of our recipes.
Fabulous recipe, my husband has been cooking this for me for a few years. Today I made it myself and it was even better.
Nice, Lara!
Family favorite!! I omit the sugar and it’s still DELICIOUS!!
Thank you Josephine!
This was delicious! I added a touch of cinnamon. Excited to explore your site!
Thank you Jessica!
This was so good and so easy!! I added cabbage and bean curd instead of peas and it was delicious! I’m so excited to eat it again for lunch tomorrow :)
Love this recipe. I’ve been frying up a sunny side up egg and adding it on top.
It was sooo good. I’m adding this recipe to my favourites!
I just realized that this is the exact recipe my mom has been making for my family for years. I would always eat WAY too much because it just tastes so good!! Thank you for sharing a seriously addictive recipe, now I can recreate it at my apartment away from home.
Have made it multiple times love love love
Glad you enjoyed it, Bethany.
So glad to hear that, Bethany!