Indonesian Cuisine - Dendeng Balado

Finalliiihhhhhh!!!!
After all this time!!
Akhirnyah makan dendeng balado lagih XD (AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA)
After contemplating with myself quite for a long time, whether or not to put too much effort in my cooking,
I gave up. Hahahaa
I ended up buying 1 kg of meat yesterday and decided to make my 'one week lunch'
(which means that this whole following week will full of meat. haha)
So that I don't have to wake up too early in the morning just to cook.
I think this can also count as not-putting-too-much-effort on cooking, eh. Haha

So I made Dendeng Balado (or Dendeng Batokok) using half of the meat and Rendang for the other half.
As far as I know, dendeng is originally made by Minangkabau ethnic group (the people who live in West Sumatera).
They make the meat dried so that it can last longer and you can also bring it with you when you travel for days (kan ceritanya anak rantau).
As well as dendeng, rendang is also an authentic food from West Sumatera. Western people usually called it West Sumatran caramelised beef curry.
Yes, actually I am not from this region, I was born and grew up in North Sumatera (where most of the people are Bataknese).
However, my grandfather is from Minangkabau tribe and my grandmother is half Malay and half Mandailing (if I'm not wrong). Mandailing is part of Bataknese ethnic group but they have a big influence (especially its culinary) from Minangkabau because the origin place is close to West Sumatera (southern part of North Sumatera and just near the border of West Sumatera).
That's also why most of Mandailing group are Muslim. Since Islam is the most dominant religion in West Sumatera.
Oke, enough with all those history stuff.


No Pic Hoax. So here is the proof of my dearest dendeng balado :D

Now I will give you the recipe :D
I got it from my beloved Mom, whom I called every time I want to try 'advance' Indonesian cuisine. Hehe

DENDENG BALADO
(thinly sliced dried meat served with chilli, onion and tomato sauce

- 1/2 kg beef (it's up to you to cut it in small pieces first or just season it the way it is. Just make sure that your cooking pot will be enough for the seasoning)

First, you will need to boil the meet with some ingredients (seasoning), which are:
- 4 onion (note: Indonesian onion is usually small. if you use the big red onion, then make it 1)
- 5 garlic
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp coriander
- 1 tsp white cumin
- 1/2 piece of star anise
- 1 cardamom
- 1 tsp ginger (~1x1 cm if you use fresh ginger instead of ginger powder)
- 1 sereh
- 1-2 tsp salt

=> Mix all the ingredients (I would recommend using blender)
=> Add water (Just use your feeling. If you think it will make all the meat drowned under the water then it's good. But make sure that you don't use too much water. So that it will be more effective for the seasoning. And of course, it's more environment-friendly. Wkwkwkk)
=> Add the meat to the water and let it boil

I'm not sure how long it takes, haha.. I just use my feeling. But make sure not to cook it too long because it can make the meat too chewy. Note that this step aim to add some seasoning in the meat, so that it will taste good even without any sauce. Plus if you cook it right, it can also make the meat soft.

=> Cut the meat into small pieces and make it flat. I use pestle. You can use any similar tools.
=> Fry the thin slices meat in oil (not so healthy, eh). But if you think it is better not to use oil and want to bake it instead, just try. However, this is how we usually do it. Fry until it becomes brown-black so that we can have crispy meat (I prefer it to be not so crispy though). It is up to you if you want it to be fully dried or not.
=> Now let's prepare the sauce. Here are the ingredients:

- 8 onion (2 if you use the big red onion), or adjust it according to your preference. I love onion so I put a lot.
- chilli (You can use 2 different kinds of chilli, the big red chilli and the small one - thai chilli). The small chilli is a lot spicier than the big one. So if you want it to be spicy, use lots of small chillies. For the big red chilli, 3-5 are enough. In my case, I don't have the big one, so I only use the small chilli.
- 1 tomato, cut in small pieces
- brown sugar (just enough, maybe 2x1 if it's in block or 1-2 tsp if it's powder). Once again, I just use my feeling. Haha. Add a little and taste it when you fry the spices (later step), if you like it to be sweeter then add more.
- 1 tsp tamarind (it is actually called 'asam jawa' and not the fresh tamarind. It looks like candied tamarind. I'm not sure). However, because I don't have any, I just use a slice of lime to add some sour taste. haha
- salt


=> Mix the onion, chilli, brown sugar and tamarind. I use pestle and mortar (or 'ulekan'). We don't use blender because we need the spices not to be finely grounded. So it's better to manually grind it. Some extra effort for a better taste. Haha
=> Fry all the ingredients (the grounded spices and tomato) with enough oil and add salt
=> Wait until it smells delicious then add the meat
=> Stir until all meat is covered with the sauce (maybe 3-5 minutes?). Don't forget to taste it before you turn off the stove. If you want it to be sweeter - add brown sugar, more sour - add tamarind or lime, more salty - add salt, more spicy - add pepper powder. If you think the taste is great then it's finished! It's time to eat! Haha


Selamat mencoba!!!

NB: I don't have enough time to include Rendang recipe. Maybe try to find it on other website? :D