← Nouns Cooking · Indonesian & Filipino

Ingredients

• 1 kg beef brisket (or ox tongue, the traditional cut)
• 2 l water, for simmering
• 1 Lemongrass, bruised
• 2 Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam) or bay leaves
• 10 Shallot, peeled
• 6 cloves Garlic
• 8 Red chilli, roughly chopped
• 3 cm piece Ginger, peeled
• 3 cm piece Galangal
• 1½ tsp ground turmeric (or 4 cm fresh)
• 1 tbsp Ground coriander
• 1 tbsp Curry powder
• ½ tsp White pepper
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 2 Star anise
• 4 cardamom pods, cracked
• 4 Cloves
• 4 Makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, torn
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 60 g Rice flour, mixed with 150 ml water
• 1½ tsp Salt
• 3 tbsp Crispy fried shallots (optional)

Method

1. Soak 20 bamboo skewers in water for 30 min. Put the beef, water, lemongrass and bay leaves in a pot, bring to the boil and skim. Cover and simmer gently for 1½ hours until a skewer slides in easily. Lift out the beef and keep 1 l of the broth.
2. While the beef cooks, blend the shallots, garlic, chillies, ginger, galangal, turmeric, coriander, curry powder, pepper and nutmeg into a smooth paste.
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Fry the paste with the cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, cloves and lime leaves for 6–8 min until dark gold and fragrant.
4. Pour in the reserved broth and the tamarind, bring to a simmer and cook for 15 min. Whisk in the rice flour mixture and simmer for 5 min, stirring constantly, until the sauce is thick and glossy like gravy. Season with the salt.
5. Cut the beef into 2 cm pieces and thread 4–5 onto each skewer. Brush with a little oil and some of the sauce and grill over high heat for 2–3 min per side until lightly charred.
6. Serve the skewers drenched in the hot sauce, with compressed rice cakes (ketupat or lontong) or rice and a shower of fried shallots.

Tips

• The meat is already cooked, so the grilling is only for colour and smoke; a griddle pan does the job well.
• Most crispy fried shallots are dusted with wheat flour; leave them off or check the label for a gluten-free plate.

Sources

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

What To Cook Today Cook Me Indonesian