Daging Salai Masak Cili Api / Smoked Beef in Hot Coconut Milk Broth

When we think about Malaysian food, you start imagining satay dipped into spicy peanut sauce, roti canai pan fried with enough ghee to last you a decade, teh tarik loaded with condense milk, sambal tumis ikan bilis swimming in at least two inches of oil and the warm steaming nasi lemak boiled in a gallon of coconut milk waiting for you in the morning at the corner. Is there anything on the Malaysian list of food that can be gorged without feeling a tad bit guilty? Here's a recipe that can give you the satisfaction in your tummy in a happy and healthier way.

(article as published on latitudes.nu)

Beef Curry Yo!

Postcard #2 - Beef Curry Yo.

Cooking Method:

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in your pot. Once hot, throw in the chopped shallots and garlic. Saute till slightly wilted but not burnt.

Add to the pot your roasted and pounded cumin seeds. Let the baby fry up and fills your kitchen with aroma.
Throw in your curry powder, if its too dry, add about 5 tbsp of water to the mix or a bit more - let it fry till oil starts to break from the curry mix. You'll when its done - when you see the colour of the curry powder changes to a nice brown tint and oil starts to separate around it.

Then add in your cubed beef and just stir them around till it loses its pink colour.

Pour in the water, be careful not to pour everything in at once, you don't want your curry to be too watery.

Let the water boil or leave it on the stove till the meat is tender, to check, just take a piece out and pierce it with a fork. If it slides in gently - your beef is good to go.

Half way through cooking the beef, you can add your potatoes and carrots. Let it sit in for another 20 - 25 minutes till tender.

Pour in your coconut milk, now be sure to slow your fire down and stir constantly. If you don't - the milk will break leaving you white spots. You can still eat your curry - it just won't look as pretty.

Finally, add in your curry leaves, tamarind juice, salt and sugar to taste. The sour taste in the curry should be mild and not overpowering, so be gentle when you add the tamarind juice into the pot - add a bit at a time.

Its ok if you leave the curry on the stove longer, cooks the meat better. But be sure to add water if it gets too thick.

Serve with hot rice or dip in with bread or tortilla. 

Beef Soup

Malaysia being a multi racial country, it has multiple cultures intertwined into one another - even soups has its own variations. This particular recipe is a Malay style beef soup. I would make this when its rainy outside or when I'm in need for comfort food - and in need of a quick solution as a pick-me up meal.

This recipe makes up to 10 servings in a huge bowl. You can keep this in your fridge for a good one and a half week. If frozen it can last up to a month. Best to prepare over the weekend.

Total cost: MYR 10 - 13                  
Preparation and cooking time: 45 - 60 minutes.
Work load: If you have a slow cooker, you can just leave it on and by the time you come home, its ready to be served. 
Serves: more than 4.

Ingredients:


300 g beef
1/2 cup of shallots
5 garlic cloves
1 carrot
2 potatoes - peeled, best to use Indian potatoes, holds better in the soup
2 small cinnamon sticks (1 inch)
4 cardamom seeds
1 tsp black whole pepper corns
1 star anise
1 inch of ginger
2 stalks of scallion chopped
2 tbsp beef or chicken granules
1 liter of water





Prepare your meat as mention in the post here and cut them into 1 inch pieces, bite size. This will ensure the meat cook through. Best cuts for this soup would be tenderloin and rump. Best if you can keep a bit of the fat on the meat - gives a richer taste to the soup.

Next, pulse your shallots and garlic. Traditionally, a mortar would have been used to do this, saving time, you can use a blender to do this for you. This too can be done a day before or you can also pulse this in batches then freeze it. It is good to last for a week.

Add about 2 tbsp of oil into your pot, once the oil is heated - gently saute the onions and dried spices with the ginger till fragrant. You should use old ginger for this recipe as it has a much stronger taste compared to fresh young ginger. Make sure you do not burn the onions, or else it will make your soup bitter. Once you catch that fragrant smell - put in your beef and saute for about a minute, just to lightly brown the meat. Pour in the water and scallions into your pot now let it boil. 

Always put your carrots and potatoes later, you do not want your vegetables to get all mushy. It has to be soft enough to the bite but not mushy. To know if your potatoes and carrots are ready, after 20 minutes pick one of each and poke it with a fork. If it slides into the vegetables easily, they are cooked. 

For seasoning, add the granules, salt and sugar adjusting to your taste. Serve with rice, coriander leaves and sprinkles of fried shallots. The soup tends to be more saltier the longer you keep it, you can add water to the batch as you heat it up. 

Glossary: (English = Malay)

tenderloin, rump : batang pinang

Prepping your meat - Beef

Prepping your beef is essential in any cooking, especially when getting them from the wet market. Usually, washing them off with just water doesn't really washes out the gamey smell of the meat. 

One trick my mum taught me, was to dust the meat with all purpose flour, dump it into some water and after a minute drain the water - rinse the meat thoroughly. I guarantee you, the gamey smell will wash right off the meat. You can use this on venison and chicken. 

After you've done this you can store your meat in portions to be ready for you to whip up your meals. You can store you meat up to 5 - 6 months.