Indonesia - Dendeng Pedas ('hot' Fried Beef)

'hot' Fried Beef 

(Dendeng Pedas)

Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients

MARINADE

-       1 kg (2 lb) topside (beef)

-       1 tb Olive oil

BUMBU

-       1/2 ts Black pepper 1 tb Dark soya sauce

-       10 Shallots

-       4 Red chillis (or 2 tbs -Sambal Ulek)

-       2 tb Vegetable oil

-       Salt

-       1 tb Lemon or fresh lime juice

Directions

-       Cut the beef fairly thin and trim it into small, square pieces.

-       Marinate it for 1 hour or longer.

-       Remember that pedas=hot++spicy hot! This is fried beef, with a robust flavour of chilli.

-       Slice the shallots finely.

-       Seed and slice the chillis.

-       Fry them in a tablespoonful of oil, in a wok, stirring all the time until they are golden brown.

-       Add salt to taste.

-       Keep hot. Put a tablespoonful of oil in a thick frying-pan, and fry the slices of meat a few at a time. Three minutes on each side will be ample*.

-       When all the pieces are cooked, put them into the wok with the shallots and chilli.

-       Heat, and mix well. Sprinkle over the mixture 1 tablespoonful of lemon juice, or, better still, fresh lime juice.

-       Stir, and add more salt if necessary. Serve hot, with rice.

NOTE: In Indonesia, the meat is usually fried until crisp. You can even buy sun-dried dendeng which only needs coating with bumbu and frying. Crisp dendeng can be rather tough, and I prefer it as described above; however, a purist might say that my recipe is not 'genuinely' Indonesian.

Makes 6 servings.