Indonesian Beef Stew

Serving size - about 4 portions

Making the aromatic paste:

8 whole shallots

5 cloves garlic

1½ thumb-size fresh turmeric

½ thumb-size fresh ginger

1 tsp curry powder

4 counts of fresh Fresno chilies (You can adjust to 1 or 2 if you do not like it spicy)

1 tsp galangal powder (optional)

½ tsp ground white pepper (Black pepper is fine)

Instruction to make the paste:

Use a smoothie blender to blend all of the above by adding about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. Transfer the smoothie-like content to a non-stick frypan and cook it down to a paste-like consistency. As you cook this, you will notice that the color turns darker. You can also use a food processor but it will produce a coarser paste. 

Other ingredients

1.5 lbs of beef (I use chuck roast and cut them into chunks of bite-size pieces)

500 ml bone broth

100 ml coconut cream

about 1/2 lime juice (adjust the level of tanginess according to your preference).

About 4 oz cabbage leaves cut into smaller pieces

About 8 oz gram carrots cut into small chunks (seasoned with salt/pepper and olive oil and roast this).

1 stalk lemongrass remove woody end and smash with heavy object to release flavor

1 bay leaves

2 kaffir lime leaves (you can find this in the frozen section at Asian stores). This is the key aroma to the dish. If you cannot find this, the closest aroma will be by adding grated lime zest at the time of serving.

Garnishes:

Fried shallots (when they start turning golden, lower the heat to about 25% of the power because it can get burn quickly)

finely chopped green onions and cilantro mix

Instructions:

In an enameled cast-iron pot,  braise the beef with the aromatic paste and season it with salt. Once the beef is brown and aromatic, add the broth, lemon grass, bay leaves and kaffir lime leaves. Slow cook this for about 1.5 hours.

When the meat is tender, add the coconut cream, cabbage, and roasted carrots, lime juice, salt and a bit of sugar.