IRISH STEW RECIPE. INDONESIAN ‘SEMUR’ STEW RECIPE. COOKING TECHNIQUES- STEWING and TENDERIZING

IRISH  STEW  RECIPE.  

INDONESIAN  ‘SEMUR’ STEW  RECIPE

COOKING TECHNIQUES- STEWING and TENDERIZING

STEWING

Meat and vegetables cooked together, also known as hotpot. Two main types of stew by Oxford dictionary defination:

1-Brown stew in which meat, vegetables, and flour are fried together before stewing, and
2-White stew in which the ingredients are not fried first. Irish stew is a thin white stew (i.e. not thickened with flour).
In culinary terms 'stewing means slowly cooking food in its own juices with the aid of a minimum amount moistening agent in the form of stock, sauce, butter etc.
Ingredients can include meat, poultry, seafood and vegetables (potatoes / beans) and fruits (tomatoes/ peppers).

During cooking, the liquid is flavored by extracts from the stewed food, the result is a highly flavored sauce. Throughout this long process, evaporation is kept to a minimum by covering the stewing pot with a tight fitting lid and simmering the stew on top of the stove or in the oven.

Condensation, which continually forms on the inside of the lid, acts as a self basting process keeping the food moist. Once cooked, the liquid and food are usually served together to form the complete dish. Stew is thicken by reduction.
Stew may also be thicken by adding thickeners such as cornstarch or arrowroot.

HOW TO MAKE A ROUX

If you feel like thickening the stew, you may add roux. Roux is a mix of 50 / 50 butter and flour, used to thicken the stew or to thicken all sorts of sauces/ gravy.

On a medium heat pan, melt butter, then whisk (or vigorously fork in) the flour for about 2 minutes, do non stop whisking to prevent it roux from sticking on the pan.

wikipedia, wikipedia.org,cookipedia and few other sources

INDONESIAN SEMUR STEW RECIPE

Semur is an Indonesian stew with thick brown gravy. The main ingredient used are shallots, onions, garlic, nutmeg, cloves  and dark soy sauce (sweet soy / kicap manis). Soy sauce is the most important ingredient in the Semur- because it serves to strengthen the flavor.

Variation from beef, the main ingredient, will be tofu, tempe, eggs and potatoes.

Ingredients:

500 grams beef

2 medium size onions

4 garlic cloves

2 large potatoes- quartered

2 large tomatoes- quartered

2 tbsp lemon/ lime juice

4 tbsp dark soy sauce/ kicap manis

2 hardboiled eggs (optional)

Cooking oil

Bumbu mix:

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground cloves

½ tsp cinnamon powder

1 star anise

2 bay leaves (daun salam)

Salt and pepper

Preparation:

Heat up oil and brown the onions. Add garlic and beef until brown. Mix in the bumbu and soy sauce, vinegar and add water enough to cover 3 inches above the beef.
Simmer on a low heat for about 1 hour or until meat is tender. Top up more water if need be, water level should be just about cover the beef. Add  potatoes. After 20 minutes, add tomatoes and eggs. Once tomatoes cooked, put off fire. Done..

What is the difference between Irish stew and beef stew?

Irish stew is classically made with lamb, other than that, there is little difference, really.

IRISH STEW RECIPE

Irish stew  is a traditional stew made from lamb or mutton, as well as potatoes, carrots, onions and parsley

Irish stew is a celebrated Irish dish. Purists maintained that the only acceptable and traditional ingredients are neck mutton chops or kid, potatoes, onions, and water. Any other ingredients would be alien and spoil the true flavor of the culinary tradition of the dish, since as early as 1800.

But non purists would add such items as carrots, turnips, and pearl barley. The ingredients are boiled and simmered slowly for up to two hours. Mutton was the dominant ingredient because of the economic importance of sheep. Economically non-viable sheep will end up in the cooking pot.

By Oxford dictionary defination-  Irish stew is a thin white stew, the ingredients are not fried first (white) and not thickened with flour (thin).

Ingredients: Serves 4-5

4 cups of cut rack end lamb chops

4 medium size potatoes- cut into halves

2 large carrots, each cut into 4 (big chunks)

1 large onion- cut into cubes

Sprigs of fresh thyme and 1 tbsp dried thyme

½ cup fresh chop fresh parsley

4 good shakes of “Lea & Perrins” Worcestershire sauce

About 4 tbsp butter

Salt and pepper

Use the bony parts of lamb, it will produce the best flavor for this rustic stew. Rack end chops would be great.

Marinade the lamb with thyme, parsley, salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce for about half hour.

Melt butter in a large cooking pot, stir in onion, when golden, add in lamb, stir for 3-4 minutes and mix with water, which is about double the height of lamb. Turn to high heat, once water boils, switch to low fire. Cover the pot (to prevent drying) partially with a lid (to avoid overflowing from the pot) and let the stew simmer for 1 hour.

Add in the potatoes and carrots, simmer for another half hour. Done, serve hot with bread.