To make the slow cooked beef, place the meat, stock and bay leaves in a medium saucepan, ensuring that the liquid covers the beef.
Bring to a boil over high heat, cover with a lid, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently for 1.5-2 hours until the beef is fork tender.
Remove the beef and set the cooking liquid aside.
To make the curry sauce, lightly toast the spice blend in a medium frypan for 1 minute or until fragrant, careful not to burn the spices. Remove from the pan and set aside.
To the same pan, add the garlic and shallots and brown them over high heat for about 4 minutes. Transfer them to a food processor with the toasted spice and 100ml of water and blitz them to form a fine paste. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle.
Add the coconut oil to the frypan, and cook the curry paste over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Stir frequently and add more water when necessary to avoid the paste from drying out and burning. Mix in the coconut sugar and cook for a further 1-2 minutes.
Add the coconut milk and fish sauce. Simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the potatoes and simmer the curry with the lid on until they're al dente.
Spoon in the cooked beef, reduce the temperature and cook for a further 15 minutes or until warmed through. Top up with some of the reserved cooking liquid from step three if the sauce seems too thick.
Serve over jasmine rice, garnish with peanuts, sliced fresh red chillies and coriander.
