I kid you not! The first time I had Indonesian Beef Stew also known as Semur Sapi, I was so amazed by the flavour! It’s so different from the Western kind of beef stew. Indonesian beef stew has more sweet umami than savoury. It’s aromatic without using a lot of herbs!
Jump to RecipeI was in my early 20s and just got back from Melbourne to visit my family in Jakarta. My late Grandmother had a caretaker that cooked me a fabulous Indonesian Beef Stew (Semur Sapi). That was my first time ever! Our family never cooked this before as we grew up with more Hakka Chinese food in the house.
She told me the simple recipe and I remember it to this day. I may have modified a bit because she did not use black pepper. The key to this Indonesian Beef Stew is the amount of garlic, shallot, and also the sweetness from palm sugar and black bean soy sauce.
There are 2 brands of black bean sauce that are famous in Indonesia. One is called Bango and the other is called ABC. Most people overseas will use ABC because it’s easier to find the local supermarket and Asian grocery store. But in my opinion, Bango has a better flavour. It’s highly recommended to make Indonesian style dish, especially for beef stew and satay!
So, let’s cook Indonesian Beef Stew!
Indonesian Beef Stew (Semur Sapi)
Equipment
- Saucepan
- Mortar & Pestle
Ingredients
- 500 grams Beef diced
- 3 pcs Carrot diced diagonally
- 2 pcs Potato diced
- 1 pc Tomato sliced
- 5 cloves Garlic chopped
- 5 cloves Shallot
- 1/2 pc Ginger
- 3 pcs Bay Leaf
- 1 tsp Mushroom Stock
- 3 tbsp Cooking Oil vegetable
- 1 liter Water adjust the water level
- 1 tsp Salt & Pepper
- 1 tbsp Blackbean Sweet Soy Sauce adjust for colour
- 2 tbsp Palm Sugar
Instructions
- Boil the beef until half-tender, drain and set aside
- Grind shallot, garlic and ginger using the mortar & pestle until its soft
- Prepare the saucepan with a little bit of oil, then stir fry the grinded ingredients until fragrant
- Add the beef into the saucepan and mix it well
- Then add diced carrots, potatoes, and tomato into the saucepan, mix it all together
- Pour a little bit of water for the sauce, add black bean soy sauce, palm sugar, mushroom stock, salt, pepper, and bay leaf
- Cook with low heat for about 30 minutes more or until everything is tender
- Adjust the flavour with black bean soy sauce and pepper
The good thing about the seasoning, you can always replace the protein as well. A lot of Indonesian will use beef but chicken also goes nicely with this.
If you can’t get palm sugar, it would be okay to replace it with raw brown sugar. It has a similar type of sweetness and it’s cheaper as well.
I like to use dried bay leaf because it’s easier to get, but feel free to use fresh bay leaf! Usually, Indonesian Beef Stew (Semur Sapi) does not have any garnish, but if you need a little green colour, then you could add some fresh parsley. It doesn’t suit with spring onion or coriander.
I hope this simple recipe is simple enough for you to try cooking Indonesian food at home! Best of luck!
