GULAI KIKIL (BEEF TENDON CURRY)

I may speak for all of us when beef tendon comes to mind, what can you do with it?  Well, I never knew what to do with it until my mum made a beef tendon curry dish.  I remember looking at it with much apprehension.  But knowing my mum is a good cook and me being very adventurous with food, I tried it and to my surprise  I liked it.   A lot of the time Beef Tendon don’t even get a second look and is very underrated although it is very nutritious and a good source of collagen which is known to be good for skin, hair, nails, and joint health.  now, having known all these facts, would you be willing to try beef tendon? I am happy to share my mum’s beef tendon curry here    

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE GULAI KIKIL (BEEF TENDON CURRY)

3 tbs of vegetable oil, always use the low cholesterol option if you can

500gr of beef tendon clean and cut into bite-size,   beef tendon can be very tough and chewy, so your first process should be to boil the tendon first until tender, once soft drain the tendon but keep the water

3 – 5  pcs  of fresh chillis

4 cloves of fresh garlic

8 pcs of  fresh shallots 

15gr of  fresh turmeric ( you can substitute it with 2 tsp of turmeric powder) 

15gr of fresh ginger  ( you can substitute it with 2 tsp of ginger powder)

1 tsp of  coriander (1half tsp of coriander powder for substitute)

salt & pepper to season

1/2 cup of coconut milk

100ml of water

HOW TO COOK GULAI KIKIL (BEEF TENDON CURRY)

• Blend all the fresh ingredients, mix in all the powder ingredients   
• Heat oil in a large pot on high heat, once the oil is hot add in the blended spices, saute until the oil separates, add in the beef tendon, mix all until you see the spices cover the beef tendon, add the water which you boil the tendon in, add coconut milk, leave to simmer in low heat, until you are certain that the tendon is tender, taste it and add seasoning if necessary, add water if you prefer a thinner consistency.  You can continue to eyeball it and you will be able to judge when the curry is ready.  The curry is basically ready when the tendon is tender and the taste is good to your liking you can keep tasting it along the way add what you think is lacking from the dish, so you will be the judge for that. 

Luckily, cooking isn’t like baking where sometimes you have to follow a recipe to a T for a good result.  In cooking you can taste along the way to suit your own liking.  Always remember you are cooking for you 🙂   How do you know when the curry is really cooked? Remember before you start the cooking process you have boiled the beef tendon until tender? that process is to make sure the tendon is cooked.  And remember you sauted the blended spices until the oil separates, that is to ensure the spices are cooked.