Oseng-Oseng Mercon: Yogyakarta 'Firecracker' Beef
Oseng-oseng mercon is an ultra-spicy, semi-dry gravy beef dish consisting of boiled beef chunks sautéed in aromatic spices like galangal, lemongrass, and tons of chillies.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr 40 min
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 500 gr beef chunks (use shank or brisket)
- 50 gr bird’s eye chillies
- 5 big red chillies, chopped
- 8 shallots, peeled, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
- 3 cm fresh galangal, chopped
- 1 lemongrass, use only the white part, bruised, knotted
- 2 salam leaves (Indonesian bay leaf)
- 0.5 tsp roasted shrimp paste
- 0.5 tbsp palm sugar, shaved
- 0.5 tsp white pepper powder
- Salt to taste
- 2 tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauces
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- Water for boiling
Instructions
- 1
Boil the beef chunks with enough water (around 1.5 lt) until tender (around 1 hr), set aside.
- 2
Using a blender or food processor, blend into a smooth paste: bird’s eye chillies, big red chillies, shallots, garlic and fresh galangal.
- 3
In a big wok, heat the cooking oil over medium high heat.
- 4
Fry the blended spices until fragrant, around 2 minutes, then add lemongrass and salam leaves.
- 5
Add the shrimp paste, palm sugar, white pepper powder and salt.
- 6
Continue frying for another 3-4 minutes.
- 7
Add the meat and a little bit of the stock (around 100 ml).
- 8
Add the sweet soy sauce and oyster sauce.
- 9
Cook all the ingredients until all the liquids have evaporated and the meat is tender (around 25-40 minutes), stir regularly to avoid burning.
- 10
If necessary, add a little bit more stock if the meat is not tender yet, but the gravy has already dried out.
- 11
Transfer to a serving plate, and enjoy with plenty of rice.