Fine Cooking 89: You don’t have to go to Thailand to eat a good Thai curry. You don’t even have to go to a Thai restaurant. Thai curries are easy enough to make at home—even on a busy night—without having to hunt far and wide for exotic ingredients. This easy curry is called country-style because its rustic and simple enough to make anywhere, anytime, using just meat, vegetables, curry paste, and broth or water. There's no coconut milk in a country-style curry, so it has the texture of a hearty soup rather than a stew.

• 1 lb. flank steak
• 5 oz. fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 3 Tbs. red curry paste, either store-bought or homemade
• 2-3/4 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 5 wild lime leaves, torn or cut into quarters (optional)
• 1-1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame (soy beans), thawed
• 3 Tbs. fish sauce
• 1 Tbs. palm sugar or light brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp. kosher salt; more to taste
• A handful of fresh Thai or Italian basil leaves
• Hot cooked rice or rice noodles for serving
• 1 long, slender fresh red chile (such as red jalapeño or serrano), thinly sliced on the diagonal (optional)

1. Slice the beef across the grain 1/4 inch thick and then cut the slices into 1-1/2- to 2-inch-long pieces.
2. Trim and discard the stems from the shiitakes; slice the caps 1/4 inch thick (you should have 1-1/2 to 2 cups).
3. Heat the oil in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan over medium heat until a bit of curry paste just sizzles when added to the pan. Add all the curry paste and cook, pressing and stirring with a wooden spoon or heatproof spatula to soften the paste and mix it in with the oil, until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
4. Increase the heat to medium high, and add the beef. Spread it in an even single layer and cook undisturbed until it just begins to lose its pink color, about 1 minute. Turn the beef and continue cooking, stirring occasionally to coat it with the curry paste, until most of the beef no longer looks raw, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir the shiitakes into the beef.
5. Add the chicken broth and stir again. Add half the lime leaves (if using), and bring to a simmer. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the shiitakes are tender and the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
6. Add the edamame, stir well, and cook for about 1 minute, just to blanch them. Add the fish sauce, sugar, and salt and stir to combine. Remove from the heat. Tear the basil leaves in half (or quarters if they are large), and stir them into the curry, along with the remaining lime leaves (if using).
7. Let rest for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to develop. Season to taste with salt.
8. Serve hot or warm with rice or noodles, garnished with the chile slices (if using).