You Call This Daging Dendeng?

Jangan ketawa! (Don't laugh). My Daging Dendeng is a disaster. More like daging ding dong.

Look at my rempah (spice paste). There was not enough and it was not well pounded. I was in a hurry, trying to do too many things on a Sunday.

Obviously not photogenic, this is beef - boiled, sliced, deep fried and then pounded before being tossed in an aromatic spice paste.

My first taste of Daging Dendeng was a few years ago when an ex-staff gifted me some to be eaten with nasi himpit which her mum cooked. Wow, I was impressed with the Daging Dendeng and soon found a recipe.

But reading through it, nah.... I would not want to go through the hassle of deep frying some beef slices and then pounding the oily lot. Too much work. Too messy.

But one weekend, I was suddenly so industrious. Maybe it's because it is Ramadan. A time when my Muslim friends would be cooking something special to break fast with their families. 

So I got to work. I found 2 small slabs of beef in the freezer. I defrosted the beef and then boiled them with some ginger and lemongrass until fork tender.

The meat was then cooled and sliced. I did the boiling before hand (a day before) to save on my work process. The sliced beef was then deep fried until browned and crispy. These were drained and once cool enough to handle, were pounded to tenderize them further.

Then I pounded the spice paste, sauteed and then threw in the pounded beef. That, my friends, was a whole lot of work. 

This dish, delicious as it were, is not something I would consider cooking frequently. The preparation aside, it was a very oily business.

I had oil splattered on my stove and counter top. And then oil on my cutting board as I pounded the fried beef slices (not to mention cast offs dropping on the floor).

But all in all, I am somewhat glad I went through the hassle because this thing is so darn delicious. Having said that, I would gladly pay for someone else to do all hard and messy the work. Seriously.

Daging Dendeng

Recipe source : Adapted from Senangnya Memasak Daging

Ingredients :

- 700g beef block

- 1 inch ginger, bruised

- 1 lemongrass, bruised

- water for boiling

Spice paste (pounded/blended)

- 2 big onions

- 2 red chilies

- 4 cloves garlic

- 2 tbsp chili paste

- 1 tbsp kurma powder, mixed with water to form a paste

- 2 tsp brown sugar

Method :

1. Boil beef together with ginger and lemongrass until fork tender.

2. Cool and slice thinly. 

3. Heat oil and deep fry the sliced beef until crispy.

4. Drain and once cool enough to handle, pound the beef slices to tenderize it further. Set aside.

5. Heat oil and saute spice paste until aromatic.

6. Add chili paste, kurma powder and sugar.

7. Saute until fairly dry and then add pounded beef slice.

8. Toss to coat with spice paste.