Bundu Daging (Makassar)
Bundu Daging is a simple Indonesian curry from Makassar. Because it contains not much santen (coconut cream), it’s a light dish and not spicy, but super delicious. I like it with some sambal (Indonesian chili salsa) or fresh lombok (chili peppers) on the side. The meat will absorb the galangal, salam (Indonesian bay leaf) and coconut completely: comfort food at its best. For more food from Makassar here is a video for inspiration (Indonesian).
Bundoe Daging (Makassar) #167 translated from Groot Indonesisch Kookboek, Beb Vuyk, page 164.
Ingredients
- 1/2 kg of beef
- 1/4 block santen (coconut cream)
- 3 dl water
herbs
- 3 tablespoons chopped onions
- 1 chopped clove of garlic
- 1 teaspoon laos (galangal)
- 1 piece of sereh (lemongrass)
- 2 salam leaves (Asian bay leaves)
- salt
- pepper
- Cut the meat into cubes and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Mix in the onions, garlic and galangal.
- Let it marinade for an hour.
- Bring water to a boil, stir in the santen, lemongrass and salam leaf.
- Add the meat and simmer until it is tender.
If you can buy fresh galangal, please do. In a curry like this, it is delicious. If it is impossible to get, the powder version works great too.
Beef like this takes a while to get tender and juicy. I let my bundu simmer for almost 4 hours on low heat. I start with the meat just below the water level. When I hear bubbly sounds in the pan the sauce thickens. When it needs more cooking time, I add half a glass of water and stir. I leave the lit off, but you can also simmer with lit half on for a couple of hours and then take it off to let the curry reduce at the end.
You can also decide not to thicken the sauce a lot then you can dip for example lontong more easily. 🙂
This curry seems a lot of work, but the only thing you need to do is be around and stir once in a while.
You can make this dish a day before or freeze it for later use too.
I love the simple flavors of this dish. Asian bay leaf makes it warm and even a bit like cinnamon. I love galangal and it’s a great combination with the citrusy lemongrass. We eat our bundu daging with white rice or lontong and a light vegetable dish.
