thai-style braised beef with coconut milk and ginger
this is from cooking light magazine.  it is a fine magazine, but I usually read it only for ideas and use regular ingredients and common sense if I make one of their recipes.  if you want to make it cooking-light style, feel free to use fat-free this and salt-free that, but results are not as certain to make you swoon with joy.  this recipe may not be strictly authentic but it's dang good.

2 - 2.5 lb boneless chuck roast (or use whatever's on sale - it will become very tender with this recipe.  chef dodie uses a pork roast and says it's great)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground red pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp vege oil (or just use as much as it takes - you'll know)
3 c chopped onion
1 - 1.5 c diced carrot
2 Tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger
4 - 6 garlic cloves, minced
14.5 - 16 oz chicken broth
12 - 16 oz coconut milk
2 Tbsp sliced peeled fresh lemongrass or 1 Tbsp thinly slivered lime rind, green part only
3 bay leaves
1 - 1.25 c chopped fresh cilantro
rice or noodles

trim fat from beef and cut beef into 2" cubes (or so) and put in a big bowl. in a small bowl, combine the next 7 ingredients (salt through pepper). sprinkle about 2/3 of the spice mixture over the beef and reserve the rest of the spice mixture. toss the beef and spices to coat.

preheat oven to 325°.

heat 1 Tbsp oil in a big dutch oven over med-hi heat. add beef, a few pieces at a time, taking care not to crowd the pan. brown briefly on all sides and remove browned pieces to a bowl, adding new pieces to the pan til all beef is browned and resting in a bowl.

add 1 tsp oil to dutch oven. add onion, carrot, ginger, and garlic.  sauté 8 minutes or til tender. stir in the broth, scraping the bottom of the pan. return beef to pan. add remaining spice mixture, coconut milk, lemon grass, and bay leaves. bring to a boil. as soon as it boils, cover and slap it in the oven for 2.5 hours.

now people are starting to bang their spoons on the table because it's smelling really, really good in your house. remove pan from oven.  remove beef from pan, using a slotted spoon, into a bowl. shred the beef using two forks,  set aside, and keep warm. add cilantro to sauce/vege stuff in the dutch oven. bring to a boil over med-hi heat. cook 10 minutes or til slightly thick. discard bay leaves. add beef back to sauce.

serve over rice or noodles. makes 6 - 8 servings.