Learn how to make this delicious,tender, and easy semur daging kentang kecap recipe using a pressure cooker or on the stove.
This is another variation of semur kecap (Indonesian-style stew) besides the semur ayam kentang kecap I shared with you guys a while ago. My grandmother used to make this semur daging pretty often too. I wrote more about semur here if you are interested to read more. I’m sharing both pressure cooker and stove-top methods. I personally prefer the pressure cooker method because it’s quicker, the meat is so tender and flavorful, I can set and forget, and I don’t have to heat up the house (especially in Summer time). It’s just so much more convenient.
SEMUR DAGING KENTANG INGREDIENTS
1. BEEF: You can use chuck, round, or rump
2. BUTTER: My grandma likes to make her semur daging with butter instead of cooking oil. I have to admit it does add a nice flavor to it though. Feel free to use regular cooking oil
3. SHALLOTS: Indonesian cooking uses shallots pretty often. But fret not, I often just use purple onion as a substitute
4. GARLIC: Use fresh garlic or if you are really lazy (like for real!) then you can use 2 Tbsp of garlic powder, I won’t judge you!
5. GINGER: You definitely need fresh ginger. Do not substitute with ginger powder, it’s not the same
6. BAY LEAVES: We call it daun salam in Indonesia. It’s hard to find Indonesian daun salam, so I usually just use regular bay leaves I can find at major grocery stores
7. KECAP MANIS: The kecap manis contributes to the dark color and sweet tone to the semur
8. SOY SAUCE (KECAP ASIN): Sometimes it is called light soy sauce
9. COCONUT SUGAR: Also known as palm sugar or gula merah/ gula Jawa in Indonesia. Fortunately, with all the coconut hype these days, coconut sugar can be easily found pretty much anywhere now
10. NUTMEG POWDER: I love the addition of nutmeg to this dish. It sure adds that comforting aroma to the dish
11. POTATOES: The potatoes are usually fried before mixed with the semur daging, but I try to keep things simple and cook all in one pot
12. TOMATOES: I like tomatoes in semur kecap like this, but this is totally optional
13. BAWANG GORENG (FRIED SHALLOTS CRISP): This is a must to me as a topping for the semur. I just feel like something is missing without it
14. CHINESE CELERY LEAVES (DAUN SELEDRI): Chinese celery has thinner stalks but far more aromatics compare to the bigger celery you see here in North America. If you can’t find the Chinese one, you can definitely use the regular celery
15. SALT: Salt is almost always needed to adjust that taste as needed
HOW TO MAKE SEMUR DAGING KENTANG WITH INSTANT POT PRESSURE COOKER
1. COOK THE AROMATICS
Melt the butter in an inner pot of Instant Pot pressure cooker. Add in ground aromatics and stir fry for about 5 minutes.
2. ADD THE BEEF, HERB, SPICE, SEASONINGS, POTATOES, TOMATOES, AND WATER
Stir to mix everything.
3. PRESSURE COOK IT ON HIGH.
Set the timer to 25 minutes and then wait 5 minutes to release pressure. Adjust the taste
There you have it! All cooked in one pot and you have a meal without slaving at the kitchen 😉
POSSIBLE VARIATIONS
1. MEAT: Even though it is made with beef most of the time, I’ve made it with pork too and it’s equally delicious. Use pork shoulder instead of tenderloin. You can also use ground beef to make semur daging cincang (ground beef stew). You don’t even need to pressure cook for this ground beef version, simply simmer it on the stove following the similar instruction below
2. MAKE IT SPICY: You can add some whole chili peppers like Thai chili (cabe rawit), or serrano peppers while grinding the aromatics to make it spicy. You can also use ground cayenne pepper for convenience. It’s up to you.
DID YOU MAKE THIS SEMUR DAGING KENTANG RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
Semur Daging Kecap (Pressure Cooker or Stove Top)
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef you can use chuck, round, rump
- 2 Tbsp butter, melted
- Water see instruction for the amount
- 50 gr bean thread noodles optional
Aromatics:
- 8 shallots thinly sliced
- 5 cloves garlic peeled and finely chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger
Herb:
Seasonings:
- 4 Tbsp kecap manis
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp coconut sugar or more to taste
- Salt to taste
Spices:
- ½ tsp nutmeg powder
Vegetables (cut into large chunks if cooking with Instant Pot):
- 2 large potatoes peeled and cut into large chunks
- 2 large tomatoes quartered
Garnishes:
- Fried crispy shallots
- Chinese celery leaves finely chopped
Instructions
Grind the aromatics:
- Place ingredients for aromatics in food processor and grind into fine pieces or a paste
Cooking with pressure cooker:
- Melt the butter in an inner pot of Instant Pot pressure cooker. Add in ground aromatics and stir fry for about 5 minutes. Add the beef, herb, spice, and seasonings. Add potatoes and tomatoes. Pour in the 1/4 cup of water (yes, I know that sounds like not much at all). Stir to mix. Not much liquid is lost and you'll be surprised by how much liquid you ended up with later. Scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing is stuck there
- Cover the lid. Turn the steam release valve to "sealing". Set timer to 25 minutes and make sure it's on "high pressure". Wait 5 minutes and then release pressure completely after that. Unlock the lid and have a taste and season with salt if needed. It should be savory and slightly sweet. Proceed to serving
Cooking on the stove:
- Melt the butter in a large pot. Add in ground aromatics, nutmeg and bay leaves. Stir fry until fragrant. Add the beef and seasonings. Pour in the 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and lower the heat and slowly simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour or until the meat is tender. Add the potatoes and tomatoes after 30 minutes of cooking. Gently stir everything to mix. Have a taste and season with salt if needed. It should be slightly sweet from the sweet soy sauce
When ready to serve:
- If using cellophane noodles, blanch the cellophane noodles in boiling water, it just take few seconds to soften. Portion into individual bowl and portion out the beef and potatoes over each bowl. Laddle the hot broth over the noodles. Garnish with fried shallot crisp and celery leaves. Drizzle with some kecap manis and you are good to go. Or just serve this with rice on the side
6 comments
Hi Marvellina,
The note below the recipe is not fully clear to me:
If you use deep-fried potatoes, do you 1) deep-fry them and eat them just as a side dish or 2) deep-fry them and add them to the pot 30 minutes before the end of cooking?
Thanks,
Fred
Hi Fred,
Sorry for the confusion, if you have fried the potatoes before, you can add them in 10 minutes before the end of cooking time so it can absorb some of the flavor. But of course, there’s nothing wrong too if you want to serve them on the side.
Hi Marvellina, am going to try your recipe for beef semur and potatoes using pressure cooker. In your recipe you add potatoes together with the beef, won’t the potatoes be too soft??
Hi Lulu, I cut mine into really large chunks. You can also add the potatoes in after the meat is done cooking. Simply use the “saute” button to bring it back to a boil and add the potatoes and cook them until soft. If you do this, cut the potatoes into bite-size so they cook faster. I hope this helps
Marvellina — what is in the little metal bowl (with the spoon in it) in the picture? And in the other little bowl — is it just soy sauce or do you add something to it? Also, any tips on making the shallot crisps? Do you slow-fry so it carmelizes or fry in high-heat (but careful not to burn it to a crisp)? Thanks
Hi Wey,
It’s my mom’s green sambal, sorry I forgot to link it in the recipe, here it is http://whattocooktoday.com/moms-green-sambal.html and the other one is just the kecap manis/ sweet soy sauce. I made bawang goreng before here’s the recipe http://whattocooktoday.com/how-to-make-fried-shallots-crisp.html Definitely need to slow fry them and to watch out not to burn them, so yes..the heat need to be somewhat medium to high. My sister in law told me to soak the sliced shallots in the water first, I’m not exactly sure why.