← Nouns Cooking · Malaysian & Singaporean

Ingredients

• 600 g beef brisket or chuck, sliced across the grain about 1 cm thick
• 2 tbsp kicap manis, for the marinade
• 1 tbsp Dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp Ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground fennel (optional)
• 1 Onion, roughly chopped
• 4 Shallot
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 3 cm piece Ginger
• 2 tbsp dried chilli paste (cili boh), more or less to taste
• 4 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 2 Star anise
• 4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 4 Cloves
• 1 Lemongrass, bruised
• 4 tbsp kicap manis, for the gravy
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 450 ml Water
• 1 Tomato, cut into wedges (optional)
• 1 small onion, cut into rings, to finish (optional)
• Salt, to taste

Method

1. Mix the beef with the marinade kicap manis, dark soy, coriander, cumin and fennel and leave for at least 30 min.
2. Blend the onion, shallots, garlic, ginger and chilli paste with a splash of water to a smooth paste.
3. Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat and fry the cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and cloves for 1 min until they smell warm. Add the spice paste and lemongrass and fry for 8–10 min, stirring, until thick, darker and the oil separates.
4. Add the beef and its marinade and stir-fry for 5 min until the meat is coated and no longer red outside.
5. Pour in the water, the gravy kicap manis and the tamarind. Bring to the boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for 1 hour, stirring now and then, until the beef is tender. Add a splash of water if it catches.
6. Uncover, add the tomato and onion rings and simmer for 8–10 min more until the gravy is thick, glossy and nearly black. Season with salt and serve with rice or nasi minyak.

Tips

• A pressure cooker cuts the simmer to about 25 min at high pressure; reduce the gravy afterwards with the lid off.
• Like most braises it tastes even better the next day, and it keeps for 3 days in the fridge.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Nomadette Ajinomoto Malaysia Free Malaysia Today