Add the onion, garlic, candle nuts, trassi, dried spices, sambal and tamarind paste to a pestle and mortar (see Tips). Heat the oil in a traditional Indonesian wadjan , regular wok or large frying pan and fry the onion and spice mixture for a minute or two until tender and glazed.
Add the beef, galangal, lemongrass, ginger, salam leaves and kaffir lime leaves and allow to cook for a minute or two. Now pour in 2 cups/1 pint (500 ml) of water and bring to a boil.
Turn the heat down low and add the cocunut milk. Allow the meat to cook gently for 45 minutes (or longer, if desired). Serve warm with white rice (see Tips), sambal and shrimp crackers ( kroepoek ).
Tips:
If you don't have a mortar and pestle, simply pulse the ingredients for the sauce in a food processor. It's not ideal, but it'll do.
Trassi is a fermented shrimp paste that can be found at most Asian food stores. It is also sometimes spelled as terasi , terasie or trassie . You can also used the Malaysian variant, called belacan (or belachan , belacan ) or blachang . Or, in a pinch, substitute with 1 tsp of Thai fish sauce.
If you can't find candle nuts, leave them out.
Double the amount of ginger if you don't have any galangal.
If you don't have lemongrass or tamarind, substitute with strips of lemon peel.
If you can't find salam , use 2 bay leaves instead.
You can use grated lime rind instead of the djeroek poeroet .
To cook rice: Wash the rice in a sieve to get rid of starch and impurities. Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Add 1 1/2 cups water for every cup of pandan rice. Bring the rice to a boil in an uncovered saucepan over a medium heat. Once the water boils, turn the heat down low and place a lid on the saucepan, tilting it to let the steam escape. Allow to cook until the water has been absorbed into the rice. Fluff the rice with a fork. See step-by-step instructions for cooking rice .
Where to Buy the Ingredients:
Candle nuts and salam leaves can be found at Asian stores.
Shrimp paste Ground coriander Ground cumin Ground turmeric Sambal oelek Tamarind paste Galangal Sunflower oil Kaffir lime leaves Coconut milk
