Rawon

Ingredients

• 900 g beef shin or brisket
• 2.5 litres water
• 5 keluak nuts
• 10 shallots
• 6 garlic cloves
• 5 candlenuts
• 3 cm fresh turmeric
• 2 cm ginger
• 4 large red chillies
• 1 tsp shrimp paste (terasi)
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 stalks lemongrass
• 5 cm galangal
• 5 salam leaves
• 4 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 tsp palm sugar
• 2.5 tsp salt
• 150 g short bean sprouts
• 3 spring onions
• 4 tbsp crisp fried shallots
• 2 salted duck eggs
• 80 g prawn crackers
• 4 tbsp sambal terasi, to serve

Before you cook

• Crack the keluak shells with a pestle, scoop out the black flesh and soak it in 150 ml of hot water for 20 minutes.
• Cut the beef into 3 cm cubes.
• Peel the shallots, garlic, turmeric and ginger.
• Bruise the lemongrass stalks and slice the galangal into coins.
• Trim the tails from the bean sprouts and slice the spring onions thinly.
• Halve the salted duck eggs.

Steps

1. Put the beef cubes into a large pot, cover them with the water and bring it to a boil over high heat.
2. Skim the foam from the surface for the first five minutes until the broth runs clear.
3. Turn the heat down to a slow simmer and leave the beef to cook, part-covered, for 60 minutes.
4. Blend the soaked keluak flesh with its soaking water, the shallots, garlic, candlenuts, turmeric, ginger, chillies, shrimp paste and coriander into a smooth dark paste.
5. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the paste for 10 minutes, stirring, until it turns almost black and the oil separates out.
6. Add the lemongrass, galangal, salam leaves and kaffir lime leaves to the pan and stir for 1 minute.
7. Scrape the whole paste into the beef pot and stir it through until the broth turns deep brown-black.
8. Add the palm sugar and salt.
9. Simmer everything together for a further 45 minutes, until the beef is completely tender and the broth has taken on a glossy sheen.
10. Taste the soup and adjust the salt, remembering the salted egg will add more.
11. Pile a small handful of raw bean sprouts into the base of each bowl.
12. Ladle the hot soup and beef over the sprouts so they wilt just slightly.
13. Scatter over the spring onions and fried shallots.
14. Serve with half a salted duck egg, prawn crackers, sambal and a bowl of steamed rice for each person.