Monday exclusive - where's the beef?

First of all, can I just share this picture with you? How hilarious is that? S'rsly, I start convulsing in giggles whenever I look at it. A classic DOH moment if there ever was one. Well, maybe this one also qualifies.



DOH!

Ok, I just thought those were funny and would help start off the week with a giggle.

Moving on...

Yesterday whilst speaking with my parents during our once-a-month-or-so phone conversation, my mom and I started to discuss menus and one thing led to another and we got talking recipes. Our family likes to cook, you see. As we were talking, Dad was in the other room whipping up a batch of homemade biscuits and sausage gravy (yum!). And Mom was telling me about a great recipe she had for daging rendang (Indo/Malay beef dish). We lived in Indonesia for some thirteen plus years and Indonesian dishes are like comfort food for me. Unfortunately, as an adult I haven't always been able to find recipes for the dishes I ate as a child. So when she started talking about this recipe and I realized that I happened to have all of the necessary ingredients on hand, I asked her to email me the recipe.

After we got off the phone, I rushed to my email and started hitting refresh. No recipe. I gave it some time figuring the length of the intertubes from England to USA might have gotten tangled. Refresh. No recipe. So I shot mom a quick email asking if she was going to send me that darned recipe after all, cuz I wanted to make the dish for supper. As I waited, I googled around and found a plethora of alternative recipes for daging rendang. They all were a little different. Apparently, there are multiple ways to prepare a dish, not necessarily one RIGHT way or wrong way. Kind of like book reviews. Anyways, with this in mind, I would like to share with you an exclusive recipe for a different way to prepare beef than your standard hamburger helper meal. My mommy's recipe! *g* For people with an open mind and an adventurous palate, this may be something to try. At least I can say that my boyfriend polished of a huge helping of it last night and gave me big props on my cooking mojo.

Daging Rendang
600 grams lean beef (1.5 pounds)
4 shallots sliced (small red onions)
6 fresh red chillies (or cayenne powder to suit your taste)
1-inch knob fresh ginger, grated

4 cloves garlic
300 ml coconut milk
50 ml. Vegetable oil
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
Salt
Ground black pepper

Chop the meat into cubes and place in bowl. Chop shallots and place half to one side. Chop the chillies and garlic and mix with ground ginger, half the shallots and a small amount of coconut milk. Pour this paste over the meat, stir to evenly coat. Marinate for 20-30 minutes. Heat oil in a large frying pan and sauté the remaining shallots until soft, add the meat along with the marinade. Season with the coriander, cumin, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour in the remaining coconut milk and boil, stirring frequently. Lower heat to simmer until the meat is tender, approximately 1 1/4 hours. Finally, add a bit more coconut milk and continue cooking over medium heat uncovered until the liquid has been almost completely reduced.