Indonesian Red-Braised Beef Shanks

Red-cooked dishes are popular Chinese  dishes although they are not often found in restaurants in the US.  Most commonly featuring chicken or pork, the "red" stock they are cooked in is often a master stock that has been used and refreshed numerous times, becoming ever more flavorful and nuanced.  Unlike those dishes, this red-braised beef is a simpler affair, with its flavors similar to those of beef semur. 

Although Tjing doesn't much care for beef, her cousins are big meat eaters.  As their kitchen is currently undergoing a major renovation, I've been asked to cook some dinners for them.  With a recent cool down and light showers bringing an end to our summer, it seemed like a good time to make some stew.  This is a stew any meat and mushroom lover would appreciate.  The recipe is adapted from Terrific Pacific Cookbook, a cookbook with many delicious recipes influenced or inspired by Asian cuisines.

Indonesian Red-Braised Beef Shanks

1/4 cup peanut oil
1 TBS roasted sesame oil
3 to 4 pounds meaty beef shanks
1/2 pound crimini mushrooms, sliced
2/3 cup shao hsing rice wine
6 TBS kecap manis
1 TBS dark soy sauce
3 slices ginger, crushed
10 dried shitake mushrooms, stems removed, rinsed to remove any grit
1/3 cup tamarind water (from 1 TBS tamarind pulp dissolved in boiling water, strained)
1 stick of cinnamon
4  1/2 cups beef stock or canned broth

2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 TBS cold water

Tie in a piece of cheesecloth or place in a spice bag:
2 star anise, crushed
1 tsp black peppercorns, lightly crushed
1 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
5 cloves, lightly crushed
3 pieces tangerine peel

In a dutch oven or large pan heat the oils over medium-high heat until almost smoking.  In batches, brown the beef shanks.  Remove the beef from the pan and fry the mushrooms until browned.  Remove the mushrooms and place with the browned beef. 

Pour off the fat from the pan and add the rice wine, scraping the pan with a wooden spoon to get up all those good brown bits.  At this point I pour all of this liquid into a Chinese claypot and cook over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by about half, but you can simply continue cooking in the same pot if you like.  Add the soy sauces, tamarind water, ginger, shitakes, cinnamon, spices in the cheesecloth or spice bag, along with the stock, and bring this to a boil.  Add the beef and sliced mushrooms, cover the pot,  and simmer for 1 1/2 to two hours, until the beef is tender and falling from the bones. 

Uncover the pot and simmer on low until the liquid is reduced and thickened to your liking.  Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook for several minutes.  You don't want a gravy-like sauce, but something approaching that of a good beef bourguignon. 

Semur Daging--Javanese Beef Stew (of a sort)

My mother makes a very good beef bourguignon, as well as a killer beef stroganoff. They were dishes I always looked forward to while I was growing up (and anytime she makes them now when I am fortunate enough to be there for dinner). But my wife doesn't care for beef much, so I don't cook it too often. When I do, I usually cook rendang, empal, rawon, or some other Indonesian dish. Semur is one of those Indonesian beef dishes that my wife enjoys.

Although commonly perceived as being spicy, a lot of Indonesian food is not particularly hot. Very often heat is introduced in the form of sambal, a chile based sauce. A typical serving of nasi rames might have a meat dish, a vegetable dish, tempe or tofu, a boiled egg, rice and a selection of sambals. Semur is one of those Indonesian dishes that incorporates several indigenous spices but forgoes the heat of chilies. It is a relatively easy stew-like dish that can be served as a main course to a simple family meal, or be a part of a multi-dish ristaffel.

Likely a Dutch-influenced dish ("smoor" meaning to smother in Dutch), semur is a slow braised stew redolent with spices that made Indonesia such a colonial prize. There are countless variations to semur, and the spices used reflect the cook's cultural background. In as much as my wife is ethnic Chinese from Java, the recipe I use contains star anise as well as cloves and cinnamon, which may not be found in other recipes. My wife also insists semur needs to have cellophane noodles, though I haven't seen them listed in other recipes. In short, semur invites you to tailor the dish to your own personal tastes and preferences.

Semur Daging

2 1/2 to 3 pounds boneless beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
3/4 cup minced shallots
2 TBS oil
2 TBS minced ginger
1 1/2 tsp minced laos
1/2 nutmeg, grated
2--4 star anise
1 3 to 4-inch piece of cinnamon
5 cloves, ground
2 tsp salt
2 salam leaves
4 cups water
4 TBS kecap manis
2 tsp vinegar
3 roma tomatoes, cut in 1/2-inch dice
2 to 3 yukon gold potatoes, sliced crosswise 1/2-inch thick
1 bundle cellophane noodles, softened in hot water
3--4 hard boiled eggs, peeled

Fry the shallots in the oil about a minute. Stir in the ginger, laos, nutmeg, star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Add the beef, stir and cook for another five minutes or so. Pour in the water, add the kecap manis and salam leaves, and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low for an hour to an hour and a half, until the beef is tender.

Some people add the potatoes raw and let them cook in the stew. I like to brown them by lightly frying them first and adding them the last fifteen minutes of cooking, along with the tomatoes and eggs. Add the cellophane noodles near the end of the cooking time.

Just before serving, stir in the vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste.