Lapis Daging - Braised Beef in Spices

5.0 from 11 reviews

Author: Anita Jacobson

Categories: Main Dish

Cuisines: Indonesian

Ingredients: Beef

Prep Time: 15 mins

Cook Time: 2 hours 30 mins

Total Time: 2 hours 45 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon oil
• 4 Indonesian bay leaves (Indonesian: daun salam)
• 4 kaffir lime leaves (Indonesian: daun jeruk)
• 500 gram (1.1 lb) beef stew cuts (e.g. chuck, bone-in short rib, brisket, shanks), thinly sliced
• 4 cups water
• 4 tablespoon sweet soy sauce (Indonesian: kecap manis)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoon palm sugar (Indonesian: gula Jawa)
• 2 tablespoon tamarind paste (Indonesian: air asam Jawa tebal)
• Grind the following into spice paste
• 6 asian shallots (Indonesian: bawang merah), about 75 gram
• 5 cloves garlic (Indonesian: bawang putih)
• 4 candlenuts (Indonesian: kemiri)
• 2 inch galangal (Indonesian: lengkuas)
• 1 lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh), white part only
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (Indonesian: biji ketumbar)
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder (Indonesian: bubuk kunyit)
• 1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns (Indonesian: merica putih butiran)

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a wok on high heat and fry spice space until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Then add daun salam and kaffir lime leaves, mix well.
2. Add beef slices into the wok, mix, reduce the heat to medium, and stir until the meat is no longer pink and the juices become somewhat dry.
3. Add water to the wok and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a bare simmer, and continue cooking until all the water is gone. This should take about 2 hours, and the meat should be tender. (*)
4. Add kecap manis, salt, palm sugar, and tamarind paste. Mix, and cook until the sauce thickens and glazes the meat.
5. Turn off heat and serve warm or at room temperature with steamed white rice.

Notes

• (*) If the meat is still tough, add 1 cup of water, and cook again until the meat become tender. Repeat this as many time as necessary until the meat is tender.