Curry beef tacos w/ pico de gallo

Up until the very recent past, I had little to no appreciation for tacos, for which I fully blame Taco Bell. But as time went on and more high end taco trucks and stands started popping up all over New York, my interest piqued. Turns out, the thin corn cakes known as tortillas are the perfect vessel for pretty much every kind of meat, fish, legume and vegetable imaginable. The inspiration for this particular recipe came from NY’s Takumi Taco stand that I tried this winter at Brooklyn Flea. I was in awe of the Asian-Mexican influences of their curry beef tacos and knew I had to attempt making them at home.

(Yield: about 8 tacos)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 lb lean ground beef

1 tbsp yellow curry powder

2 tsp red curry paste*

1/2 c canned tomato sauce

1 tsp corn starch

Salt + pepper

16 corn tortillas

*This ingredient adds heat and a nice chili aroma but it may be hard to find. If you are unable to locate it, substitute with Sriracha, cayenne or regular hot sauce.

Procedure for beef: Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook for about 3 min, until softened. Raise flame to high and add beef. Break meat up with a wooden spatula and season with generous pinches of salt and pepper. Cook for about 6 min, stirring frequently, until meat starts to brown. Then add curries, stir and add tomato sauce. Bring to a simmer and turn heat down to low. Cover tightly with a lid and cook for 15 min. Then, in a small cup, stir together corn starch with 2 tbsp water until dissolved - add to the pan. Stir and cook for another 2 min, until sauce thickens. Turn heat off; taste and re-season if necessary.

Pico de gallo: In a medium bowl, combine 2 finely diced tomatoes, about 2 tbsp finely diced yellow onion, about 2 tbsp chopped cilantro and 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice. Season with a pinch of salt.

Assembly: Warm tortillas on the stove over a very low flame, 10-15 seconds per side, until they are pliable, using tongs to gently flip.

Comme ça…

Transfer to a platter and continue with remaining tortillas. Keep tortillas warm under a kitchen towel until they’re all ready to be filled. (If your stove is electric, warm tortillas in a skillet instead). To fill, stack two tortillas together, fill with beef and top with pico de gallo. Serve immediately, with extra limes, sour cream or guacamole if desired.