Beef Soup (Sop Daging Lembu)

November 24, 2013

Beef Soup (Sop Daging Lembu)

Enough of curries! It is time for something soupy. Enough of chicken! It is time for some beef. So over the weekend, yesterday, I made some beef soup. It was just nice for my kitchen-ing assistant who caught the flu. She had dizziness to the point of fainting. I was scared out of my wits. Could I have overworked her? Nope, I did not.

I barred her from the kitchen and household chores after she refused my offer to bring her to the doctor. Then, being the hardworking person that she is, she started work again as soon as she felt better in the evening. After she assured me that she was well enough, I only allowed her light duties. I must say that I am very lucky to have her as a helper. :)

Anyway, we had our beef soup with bread yesterday. A very simple meal but definitely fulfilling. The preparations were not that easy however. I was interrupted by Sayf a couple of times during cooking as my husband (Sayf's puppet) was away at work for half of the day. My mother-in-law was helping me to take care of Suhaym, my younger one. With my kitchen-ing assistant being unwell and resting in her room, I had to somehow try and manage for a while. Sayf made me felt that I was taking care of two or three toddlers yesterday. He definitely did not miss the opportunity to keep me very occupied. The fact that I could still snap the step by step photos despite it all, I think I managed quite well.

The thing that drove me up the wall was that I had to run around the house just to get Sayf to do something or just to get his attention. I spanked his butts twice! I was frustrated at the fact that I had to chase him for practically everything. I felt like a footballer chasing after a ball in the field except that no one cheered when I caught up with him. Hmmm...I must have lost some weight! ;p Now I know the things that most mothers with toddlers are subjected to. I am just glad that I have only one at the moment before Suhaym joins the club in good time! I better be fully geared by then!

Ok, so that's about most of what happened yesterday. Now, we get to the ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 kg of fresh beef - cut into small slices (I used frozen beef cubes)

1-2 carrots - sliced into about 1cm pieces (I used small carrots, so my carrots looked different in the pics)

4 potatoes - cut into sixes

2 garlics - crushed

2 cm ginger - crushed

1 large onion - finely sliced

5 cloves

5 cardamoms

2-3cm cinnamon

1 spoon kurma powder

2 pieces of Knorr beef cube (optional if you are using fresh beef)

3-4 stalks of celery - chopped

4-5 stalks spring onions - chopped

1-2 handfuls of fried shallots

1 spoon sugar

1-2 spoonful(s) of white ground pepper (more or less depending on your preference)

1-2 teaspoon(s) of Ajinamoto (only if you prefer)

Water as needed

(**items to be blended in a food processor with a little bit of water to form a paste)

2 large onions**

6 garlics**

2 cm ginger**

Method:

1. Braise the beef in a pot with enough water to cover together with the crushed garlic and ginger.

2. Once the braised beef are tender, remove the pieces of crushed garlics and ginger. Off fire and set aside the braised beef together with the stock.

3. In a separate pot, heat up oil. Add in cinnamon, cloves and cardamoms. Saute for a few seconds.

4. Add in the sliced onions. Saute until the onions are withered.

5. Add in the blended ingredients. Saute for about two to three minutes.

6. Add in the kurma powder. Saute until fragrant and oil separates.

7. Once the sautéing mix looks slightly dried and oil collects in between the gaps of the sautéing mix, oil has separated. By this time, you would also be able to smell the fragrance of the sautéing mix.