Rating: 4 stars
10/24/2014
Awesome with a few tweaks... I wouldn't really call this a "Thai" dish, I was expecting it to be like a larb, but it wasn't. It With the tomato it has more or an Indian taste than Thai. It is very delicious though. We added a small amount of thai red chilis to get it some more heat (about a Tbsp finely chopped) that we added while it was cooking. The coconut milk is a little sweet so the chilis help cut the sweetness.
Rating: 3 stars
04/02/2014
I thought this was great. I got some bagged shredded cabbage & served the thai ground beef and rice over that. It made a fantastic lunch.
Rating: 3 stars
01/25/2014
My husband loves this recipe; he eats two servings, leaving one for me and one for next day's lunch. Sometimes I use part beef and part humanely-raised pork. Even doubling the curry paste isn't quite enough for us though--I use a heaping tablespoon and we add sambal olek at the table, as well as more limes to squeeze over the top. Fresh basil is a nice addition if you have it. I serve this with rice and a hot vegetable such as stir-fried bok choi, peppers & ginger, or stir-fried snow peas or zucchini with sesame seeds.
Rating: 2 stars
10/01/2013
Meh. Love Thai food. Love curry. This was just boring. I even doubled the coconut milk and used a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste vs. the tomato sauce. The flavors just didn't meld well. Plenty of much better thai-inspired dishes out there. Won't make this one again.
Rating: 5 stars
04/13/2013
Fantastic. My young daughter enjoys this recipe also.
Rating: 5 stars
08/31/2012
My husband and I really loved this recipe. We added 1 cup of coconut milk, large tablespoon of curry, and a can of diced tomatoes. The real reason this recipe gets a five star from me is that my 3 boys (ages 5, 3, and 2) ate without complaint. My 3 year old said it was "spicy" but was happily eating one bite and then taking a sip of milk.
Rating: 4 stars
08/14/2012
As others suggested, I also used more coconut milk, curry, and fish sauce and used less tomato sauce. I thought this turned out great. I did not serve with lettuce wedges. Just with rice. Looking forward to the next time I make it.
Rating: 5 stars
05/04/2012
like other reviewers, i used: more coconut milk, less tomato sauce, triple on the curry, double on the fish sauce and forgot the brown sugar. i also added chopped red pepper at the saute stage and lemongrass at the end. served as lettuce wraps. took 20 minutes and was delicious!!!
Rating: 3 stars
02/13/2012
I thought this was pretty good - a really nice sloppy-joe alternative in my opinion. I used more coconut milk and half the tomato sauce and probably tripled the curry and doubled the fish sauce. Also added some coriander. Oh, and fresh garlic. Was very quick to make.
Rating: 5 stars
08/07/2011
I've been making this recipe for years ever since it was published. I like to add more curry paste and fresh lime juice for more flavor. Sometimes I'll also add sliced red bell pepper. The whole family loves it including baby and toddler.
Rating: 4 stars
08/01/2011
Left out the tomato completely and added a whole can of coconut milk. Also increased the fish sauce, lime juice, and curry paste to about double. Served as lettuce wraps. Very good.
Rating: 1 stars
03/28/2011
no one in my family liked this recipe. a neighbor kid was here, and she ate everything on her plate. we think maybe she was just really hungry. :) to me, it was very much like sloppy joes, with a hint of thai at the end of a bite. my family all likes thai food, so it was rather disappointing. i won't make it again, but i sure wish i had doubled the red curry paste to make it more palatable today.
Rating: 4 stars
02/12/2011
Good recipe. My daughter loves this and so easy to put together.
Rating: 5 stars
08/20/2010
This recipe was really good, I used arugula lettuce instead of the iceberg lettuce and brown rice, and it was delicious. I would recommend it. :)
Rating: 4 stars
08/12/2010
This was so incredibly quick and easy to make. I wouldn't call it a Thai recipe at all, but it was yummy.
Rating: 4 stars
07/19/2010
I realized way too late in the game that I was missing a few essential ingredients (tomato sauce, red curry paste and leeks). So, I improvised with green onions, sriracha sauce and left the tomato out. I used 2/3 of a can of coconut milk and some Indian curry and served it (very saucy) over rice. Absolutely delicious! I love a recipe that has such a strong base that it shines no matter what. :)
Rating: 3 stars
07/15/2010
This was very good but lacked the heat of many Thai dishes. I will add cayenne or fresh chiles, more lime, more curry paste next time. Also stir in about 2 tbsp of cilantro before serving.
Rating: 4 stars
04/01/2010
This is good, though I did make some changes based on past reviews: There were a few reviews that said that it was too tomato-y and did not have much coconut milk taste, so the first thing I did was omit the tomato sauce and instead used about 2T of tomato paste. I then mixed in a whole can of lite coconut milk, not just 1/2 cup. Our family likes things really spicy/hot, so I also doubled the curry paste. With the extra coconut milk, it was very liquidy, so instead of rice, I stirred in some dry broken rice noodles, which soaked up the extra liquid nicely. The finished dish was nicely spiced, not too tomato-y, and retained that Thai-coconut flavor. Will definitely make again!
Rating: 5 stars
12/13/2009
Added the bottled lemongrass as suggested by another reviewer and doubled the curry paste. It was spicy and delicious. Used the lettuce as a side dish instead of a wrap and it added a great dimension, cooling and crisp. Good stuff!
Rating: 3 stars
09/26/2009
Good stuff! We use Indian red curry paste (Patak's) sometimes for a change of flavors. The Indian stuff's not hot, so definitely double the amount called for. I've made this with sliced flank steak, added lime juice, and cut back on the tomato sauce when I've been in the mood for panang but didn't want to go out to get Thai. It's not exactly the same, but it's close enough!
Rating: 4 stars
06/17/2009
This was delicious! I doubled the amount of red curry paste and fish sauce. If I wasn't making it for my kids, I would have added a bit more spice but it was just fine as it was. I wrapped it up in iceberg lettuce and added the rice and cilantro. My kids, ages 3 and 4, balked at the lettuce but wrapped it up in flour tortillas and added crispy chow mein and ate it up.
Rating: 3 stars
02/24/2009
This was really tasty, though I'm not sure I would've immediately known it was "Thai-style" if not for the recipe title. My result was a lot saucier than what was pictured in the magazine and I'm not sure what the cause of that might've been, but it was tasty nonetheless. Going on the advice of a few other reviewers, I did double the amount of curry paste. Decent advice. I think the prevalent taste in this dish, however (in spite of the exotic coconut and lime) is TOMATO.
Rating: 4 stars
01/14/2009
Five stars if you add lemongrass (a lot if you really like it!) You can buy it in a jar sliced already. Also if you're into Thai food in general it needs at least double the red curry paste and more lime, lime zest and fish sauce. Also, make double. It doesn't last.