We were watching TV last night and someone mentioned Malaysia. Now, The Bloke used to live in the Far East as an expat and also has done a fair bit of travelling in that area. I knew when he looked at me - that he wanted Malaysian for dinner. I told him.. "you just have to ask". So he did. "Beef Rendang, please".
So tonight, instead of the planned faggots (a favourite of mine) - we are having a flavourful Malaysian curry that is called Beef Rendang. If you haven't tried it yet, I urge you to give it a go. It truly has a flavour of its own.
Rendang can be from Indonesia or Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore. They all have their own ways of cooking it. I'm an Irish lass in London. And this is how I cook it. One of the things is the Malaysian way of adding the 'kerisik' which is the toasted and pounded coconut.
Ingredients: (Serves 2-3)
For the paste:
5 cloves garlic, peeled
2 inch piece ginger, peeled
1 small onion
6 red birds eye chillies (seeds in if brave - I did!)
1 tsp. turmeric
The rest:
1 tbsp. oil
700g beef, cubed (make your choice - I used a very marbled sirloin)
6 kaffir lime leaves
1 stick lemongrass, bashed with a saucepan
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1 tsp. sugar (palm sugar if you have it)
400ml coconut milk
120g desiccated coconut
Method:
Make the paste by putting all of the paste ingredients into a blender and blitzing. Put the oil into a heavy based pan and heat. Add the paste and cook slowly for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to cook. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, lime leaves and lemongrass. Stir.
Add 200ml of water, in 50ml at a time, letting the water cook down and evaporate each time. The sauce should reduce to be dry at this stage. Then add the beef and cook until its brown. Add the sugar and then a little of the coconut milk. Cook on a medium heat, adding more coconut milk when it becomes dry. (only add a little at a time). You may not need all of the coconut milk. Its a bit of a labour of love as you stand with it, its worth it - trust me!
For the kerisik, put the desiccated coconut into a dry frying pan and cook until browning. Put into a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder (you can miss out the grinding if you don't have the pestle and mortar).
The oil from the coconut milk in the curry will separate, so tip the pan so one side and spoon off some of the oil and discard. Now add a little water (a splash) and cook on a gentle heat. You want the curry to be thick and rich, with just a little sauce coating the meat. I add about half of the toasted coconut at this stage, as it makes a good body to the sauce.
Remove the lemongrass, star anise and cinnamon from the curry and serve the delicious rendang on a plate with steamed rice. Top the curry with more toasted coconut and add a wedge of lime.
Garlic Greens.
You can use any greens you like for this, but I had some brussel flowers, so I simply stir fried them for 5 minutes and then added loads of thinly sliced garlic and stir fried until the garlic was crisp. Heaven!
Hi - my name is Jules and I live in London. Cooking is in my heart and soul, and my mind is rarely off what to cook next. So many flavours, from so many countries are out there, so why not try them all? I love to cook, so I put up my own recipes inspired from around the world - here on my daily blog. Happy Cooking!
To search for any recipe, use the search box at the top left of the page.
For any queries, emails welcome at julesdinnertable@yahoo.co.uk
laksa
Monday, 18 January 2016
Sausage Cheesy Bean Casserole
This is a great way to make one pack of sausages serve 6-8 people. Its a delicious casserole with loads of flavour too. The sausage meat is mixed with Paxo stuffing (see note at bottom of page) and stuffed with a chunk of mozzarella - baked and then put into a tomato, pepper and baked bean casserole.
A cheap and cheerful dish that kids will love as much as the adults; its a proper comfort food too!
Ingredients: (Serves 6-8)
400g pork sausage meat
80g dried Paxo stuffing (made up with water & cooled)
100g block (cooking) mozzarella, cubed
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. chilli flakes
1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
400g tin tomatoes
200g baked beans
1 tbsp. tomato puree (paste)
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper
Method:
Set the oven to 220 C. Mix the sausage meat with the Paxo stuffing, garlic powder, chilli flakes and a little salt & pepper until combined. Take a small piece and roll in your hands. Flatten and put a piece of cubed mozzarella in the centre. Seal the ball and roll well to seal. Place on a baking tray and continue until you have all your meatballs made up. Bake at 220 C for 10 minutes.
In a large casserole dish, fry the onion, garlic and peppers until soft. Add the puree, tomatoes, beans and bay leaves. Cook on a gentle heat for 10 minutes, until thickened and bubbling.
Gently add the meatballs (its okay if some of the cheese has oozed). Spoon over the sauce to cover the meatballs and cook on a medium heat for about 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
Serve with buttered crusty bread, creamy mash or boiled potatoes and enjoy!!
Note: Paxo stuffing is a typically British product. To make yourself - its just dried breadcrumbs, mixed with chopped sage, onion powder and water.
A cheap and cheerful dish that kids will love as much as the adults; its a proper comfort food too!
Ingredients: (Serves 6-8)
400g pork sausage meat
80g dried Paxo stuffing (made up with water & cooled)
100g block (cooking) mozzarella, cubed
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. chilli flakes
1 onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
400g tin tomatoes
200g baked beans
1 tbsp. tomato puree (paste)
1 bay leaf
salt & pepper
Method:
Set the oven to 220 C. Mix the sausage meat with the Paxo stuffing, garlic powder, chilli flakes and a little salt & pepper until combined. Take a small piece and roll in your hands. Flatten and put a piece of cubed mozzarella in the centre. Seal the ball and roll well to seal. Place on a baking tray and continue until you have all your meatballs made up. Bake at 220 C for 10 minutes.
In a large casserole dish, fry the onion, garlic and peppers until soft. Add the puree, tomatoes, beans and bay leaves. Cook on a gentle heat for 10 minutes, until thickened and bubbling.
Gently add the meatballs (its okay if some of the cheese has oozed). Spoon over the sauce to cover the meatballs and cook on a medium heat for about 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt & pepper.
Serve with buttered crusty bread, creamy mash or boiled potatoes and enjoy!!
Note: Paxo stuffing is a typically British product. To make yourself - its just dried breadcrumbs, mixed with chopped sage, onion powder and water.
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