Instant Pot Beef Stew With Coconut Milk & Salted Peanuts Recipe on Food52 (2024)

Coconut milk stirred in at the end lends the stew a warm, velvety note and a beautifully creamy finish. Meanwhile, salted peanuts provide pleasant bursts of salinity and crunch. A touch of ground ginger and cinnamon complement the earthy flavor of the cumin, which rounds out the richness of the coconut milk.

Don’t have an Instant Pot? Making a similar dish on the stovetop is also a possibility by using these ingredients and borrowing the process outlined in Secret Ingredient Beef Stew. Know that without the high heat that comes from cooking with pressure, developing flavor and tenderness will take much longer.

Note: Any leftover coconut milk can be poured into an ice cube tray and frozen. Once frozen, pop the cubes of coconut milk in a zip-top freezer bag and keep for up to 3 months.

This dish comes from my cookbook How to Instant Pot, now available for purchase. —Daniel Shumski

Directions

1. Place the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and stir to combine. Add the beef and toss with the flour mixture until the beef is evenly coated. Set aside.
2. Press Sauté and select the middle temperature (“Normal”). Place 1 tablespoon of the oil in the inner pot, wait about 2 minutes for the oil to heat, then add the onion. Cook with the lid off, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens slightly, about 5 minutes. Use a large spoon to remove the onion to a bowl; set it aside.
3. Place the remaining oil in the inner pot, wait about 1 minute for it to warm, and then add the beef, cumin, ginger, cinnamon and cayenne. Cook with the lid off, turning the beef occasionally, until it is browned on most sides, about 5 minutes.
4. Place the broth in the inner pot (be careful—steam may whoosh up!) and use a silicone spatula or wooden spoon to scrape the bottom of the inner pot until most of the brown bits are released, about 1 minute. Add the reserved onion, potatoes, and Worcestershire sauce and stir to combine.
5. Close and lock the lid. Set the valve to Sealing. Press Cancel, then press Manual or Pressure Cook and select High Pressure. Set the time to 20 minutes.
6. When the cooking cycle ends, press Cancel. Allow the appliance to cool and release pressure naturally, about 30 minutes. (The pressure is released when the small metal float valve next to the pressure-release valve sinks back into the lid and the lid is no longer locked.)
7. Remove the lid. Gently stir the coconut milk into the stew and then close and lock the lid to allow the residual heat to warm the stew for about 5 minutes.
8. Taste the stew for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed. (It’s okay if it’s slightly under-salted—the peanuts on top will be salty.) Serve hot with a drizzle of coconut milk and a squeeze of fresh lime juice, garnished with a spoonful of peanuts.

Recipe by: Daniel Shumski