Tongseng Sapi (Sweet-and-Spicy Beef Stew)

Indonesia is replete with exotic recipes to tempt foreign and local tastes.  Along busy thoroughfares, makeshift food stands pepper the breeze with hunger-inducing smells from dishes like satay, gulai, and a distinctively sweet-and-spicy stew called tongseng.  Originated from Surakarta—a province in Central Jawa which is also the birthplace of President Jokowi—tongseng  made from lamb or beef, and the stew’s most defining characteristic is the sweet soy sauce that attempts to coat the undeniably distracting spiciness.

As with any meat soup, the key component of tongseng is the mutton or beef as well as the stock that is rendered from its juices.  Most chefs will dice the meat into small pieces, followed by lightly pounding it out with a butcher’s hammer or it can be boiled first then diced (like what I did) before added to the spice paste which has already been sautéed.  The soup can be made by combining the meat with water and coconut milk in a pot, along with sweet soy sauce.  A similar Indonesian stew, gulai (or gule), forgoes the soy and uses cow or lamb entrails instead of prime cuts of meat.

After the soup is brought to a boil, crating the beginnings of a flavorful beef stock, the heat is reduced to a simmer.  Other vegetables like chopped cabbage, wedged tomato, and diced chilies then added. Diced chilies will give the dish its characteristic bite.  Once the tongseng has simmered for at least 10 minutes, sprinkle with fried shallots and it is ready to be served.  The stew is traditionally served with hot steamed rice.

Tongseng Sapi (Sweet-and-Spicy Beef Stew)

For recipe in Indonesian, click HERE

Ingredients:

·         500 gram beef

·         1 cm galangal, bruised

·         2 lemongrass, bruised

·         2 lndonesian bay leaves

·         150 gram cabbage, cut into 2 cm width

·         1 tomato, quartered

·         5 small red or green chilies, diced (adjust to your preference)

·         6 tablespoons sweet soy sauce (adjust to your preference)

·         4 shallot, thinly sliced

·         2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil for frying

·         1 teaspoon ground pepper

·         4 teaspoons salt (adjust to your preference)

·         1 tablespoon sugar

·         1.500 ml water

·         500 ml thick coconut milk.

Spice Paste:

·         8 shallots

·         6 cloves garlic

·         5 candlenuts, burned

·         2 cm ginger

·         2 cm turmeric, burned

·         1 teaspoon coriander

Condiment:

·         Sliced and deep fried shallots

·         Scallion, thinly sliced

Directions:

1.       Boil beef until tender, cut into cubes. Set aside the beef stock.

2.       Put all ingredients for the seasoning paste in a blender or food processor, and blend until smooth (add a little bit of oil to help the blending process if necessary).

3.       Heat oil in a sauce pan, stir-fry shallot, spice paste, bay leaves, galangal, and lemongrass until fragrant.

4.       Pour the beef stock.  Add salt, ground pepper, sugar, sweet soy sauce, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to a simmer.

5.       Add beef cubes, red chilies, cabbage, tomato, and scallion. Adjust the seasoning, add more salt and sweet soy sauce if needed.

6.       Sprinkle fried shallots, serve with warm steamed rice.

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

·         500 gram daging sapi sengkel

·         1 cm lengkuas, memarkan

·         2 batang serai, memarkan

·         2 lembar daun salam

·         150 gram kol, iris tipis

·         1 buah tomat, iris menjadi 4 bagian

·         5 buah cabai rawit, iris tipis (sesuai selera)

·         6 sdm kecap manis (sesuai selera)

·         4 butir bawang merah, iris tipis

·         2 sdm minyak untuk menumis

·         1 sdt merica bubuk

·         4 sdt garam (sesuai selera)

·         1 sdm gula pasir

·         1.500 ml air

·         500 ml santan kental

Bumbu halus:

·         8 butir bawang merah

·         6 siung bawang putih

·         5 buah kemiri, disangrai

·         2 cm jahe

·         2 cm kunyit, dibakar

·         1 sdt ketumbar, disangrai

Bahan Pelengkap:

·         Bawang merah goreng

·         Daun bawang, iris

·         Tomat merah, potong-potong

Cara:

1.       Rebus daging hingga empuk. Angkat dan potong kotak-kotak.

2.       Blender semua bahan untuk bumbu halus

3.       Tumis bawang merah, bumbu halus, daun salam, lengkuas, dan serai sampai harum.

4.       Tuang air rebusan daging.  Tambahkan garam, merica,  gula, kecap manis, dan santan. Didihkan sambil sesekali diaduk agar santan tidak pecah. Kecilkan api.

5.       Masukkan daging, cabe rawit, kol, tomat, dan daun bawang.

6.       Taburi  dengan bawang goreng.  Sajikan bersama nasi putih hangat.