One of our go-to meals to prep and bring on our camping trips is this Malay-style beef soup. The hearty, comforting combination of meat and potatoes, as well as the warmth of the peppery, gingery spiced broth, makes this soup the perfect dish to have on a cold evening by the campfire. We would portion the soup out into ziplock bags, freeze them, then store the frozen soup in our cooler. The soup would last us multiple meals over a weeklong camping trip.
I based this soup on an excellent recipe by Che Nom, with my own modifications. I started with browning my meat first, similar to when making a Western-style stew. I also added chilies to give the soup a little extra kick, and a few dates to act as a tenderizer. This recipe makes a big batch, so you can make this over the weekend and freeze a few portions for a quick dinner on another day. Do give it a try!
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Step by Step
In your blender jar, add the garlic, shallots, ginger and candlenuts. Blitz into a fine paste, then set aside until ready to use.
In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat the oil. When the pan is hot, sear the beef cubes in batches, until browned, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the pan and add to your pressure cooker pot.
In the same pot, add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and cardamom pods. Cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the blended ingredients and cook, stirring, until the liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the soup spice mix and 1 tablespoon ground black pepper and cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add some water to the pan and scrape off any bits from the bottom. Pour the contents of the pan into your pressure cooker pot, along with the remaining water.
In your pressure cooker pot, add the lemongrass, the white part of the green onions, the sup bunjut pouch, the Thai chili, and the dates if using.
Close and lock the pressure cooker lid and cook at high pressure, 30 minutes. When done, let the pressure cooker depressurize and carefully remove the lid.
Turn on the Sear function on your pressure cooker, and return the mixture to a boil. Add the potatoes, celery and carrots and cook, until potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
Season with the beef stock cube, seasoning powder, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon black pepper and mushroom powder if using. Adjust to taste.
Garnish with the chopped green parts of the green onions, and fried shallots.
Serve hot, with steaming hot white rice. Squeeze a wedge of lime if desired, to add a little brightness to the soup.
Beef Soup
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 4 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 4 shallots roughly chopped
- 2 inches ginger roughly chopped
- 4 pieces candlenuts roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1.5 kilograms beef stew cubes OR beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 1 piece star anise
- 3 pieces cloves
- 4 pieces cardamom pods
- 2 tablespoons soup spice mix see Note 1
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 6 cups water
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 2 stalks green onions
- 1 sup bunjut see Note 2
- 2 to 3 green Thai chilis halved
- 3 pieces dried dates optional, see Note 3
- 2 potatoes quartered
- 2 stalks celery roughly chopped
- 1 carrot peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 beef stock cube
- 1 teaspoon Cukup Rasa seasoning all-in-one seasoning powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon mushroom powder optional
- Fried shallots for garnish
- Lime wedges for serving, optional
Instructions
- In your blender jar, add the garlic, shallots, ginger and candlenuts. Blitz into a fine paste, then set aside until ready to use.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat the oil. When the pan is hot, sear the beef cubes in batches, until browned, about 1 minute per side. Remove from the pan and add to your pressure cooker pot.
- In the same pot, add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and cardamom pods. Cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the blended ingredients and cook, stirring, until the liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the soup spice mix and 1 tablespoon ground black pepper and cook, stirring, until spices are fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add some water to the pan and scrape off any bits from the bottom. Pour the contents of the pan into your pressure cooker pot, along with the remaining water.
- In your pressure cooker pot, add the lemongrass, the white part of the green onions, the sup bunjut pouch, the Thai chili, and the dates if using.
- Close and lock the pressure cooker lid and cook at high pressure, 30 minutes. When done, let the pressure cooker depressurize and carefully remove the lid.
- Turn on the Sear function on your pressure cooker, and return the mixture to a boil. Add the potatoes, celery and carrots and cook, until potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.
- Season with the beef stock cube, seasoning powder, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon black pepper and mushroom powder if using. Adjust to taste.
- Garnish with the chopped green parts of the green onions, and fried shallots.
- Serve hot, with steaming hot white rice. Squeeze a wedge of lime if desired, to add a little brightness to the soup.
Notes
- Malaysian-style soup spice mix, containing spices such as coriander, fennel, cumin, star anise, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper, lightly toasted to bring out the aroma and ground into a powder.
- A spice sachet commonly used in Malaysian soup recipes, containing rough pieces of whole spices similar to the ones contained in Malaysian soup spice mix.
- Dates act as a meat tenderizer and adds complexity to the flavor of the broth.
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