Mix half the coconut milk and two-thirds of the broth in a saucepan. Add the beef, cardamom, cloves, star anise, sugar, fish sauce and half the tamarind, then bring to the boil. After the first broth; lower the heat and simmer for 1½ hours uncovered to prevent the coconut milk from curdling. The meat should be very tender.
Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and drain it in a colander. Strain the sauce and set aside; discard solid ingredients.
Heat the curry paste in a casserole dish until fragrant, then gradually pour in the rest of the coconut milk, tamarind and broth. Boil for one minute before adding the beef, onions, kumara and 250ml reserved sauce. Continue cooking for 30 minutes over medium heat (the sauce should barely simmer), until the vegetables are tender.
Present the curry in a large hollow dish. When ready to serve, garnish with chopped peanuts and sliced green onion.
Note:cardamom is a very fragrant spice, almost as expensive as saffron. It is sold ground, but its flavor is then less intense. It comes in the form of small, pale green or beige dried capsules. To preserve all the flavor, it is better to grind its seeds when using them. In this recipe, we just crush the whole pods.
Located off the east coast in southern Thailand, in the Gulf of Siam, it is the largest island of an archipelago numbering more than 80, but mostly uninhabited in the Angthong Marine National Park (the gold ball).
With an area of 250 square kilometers, it is the third largest island in the Kingdom after Phuket and Koh Chang. The nearest mainland town is Suratthani about 60 kilometers to the west. "Koh" means "island" in Thai.
It was discovered by the first "tourists" in the early 1970s, backpackers who had to make do with huts without electricity and running water, and a population who lived mainly from fishing and coconut plantations. Currently, Koh Samui still sends more than 2 million coconuts per month to Bangkok.
A tropical island lined with coconut trees and white sand beaches, Samui is connected several times a day by boats and planes. It is part of Suratthani province.
In the space of two decades, Samui has become a destination of choice in Asia. Today, Samui has created a solid reputation as a small tropical paradise among its visitors.
