Bebento A50

It's been awhile I did not make any bento lunch for my hubby. We love to eat Indonesian dishes : Beef rendang Padang with eggplant and sambal Lado. They are complement to each other. Padang is the capital of West Sumatra province in Indonesia, that has speciality in spicy foods. So, if you like spicy foods, this one is worth to try.

In this box, I prepared :
1. White steam rice with fried egg, tofu on top sprinkled with black sesame seed
2. Beef rendang Padang (recipe as below)
3. Eggplant stir fried
4. Sambal Lado
5. Cucumber

BEEF RENDANG PADANG
3 lbs beef stew meat, cut into 1-2-inch pieces
8 red chilies, stemmed and coarsely chopped (you can take out the seeds to reduce the heat level)
1 small red onion, chopped
1 pcs garlic
5 pcs candle nuts
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 stalk lemongrass, tough outer layers removed, tender insides finely sliced
2 inches galangal, chopped
1/3 cup tamarind paste (combined with 1/3 cup warm water)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk
1 teaspoons sugar
salt to taste

Method :
1 Put the beef in the slow cooker.
2 In a blender or food processor combine chili, red onion, galangal, candle nuts, ginger, garlic, lemongrass, tamarind  paste, 1 cup warm water, and the spices.
3 Puree until smooth, then pour over the beef.
4 Stir in the coconut milk and cook, cover it, on the low setting for 5-6 hours.
5 The beef will be tender and the sauce will be dark brown.
6 Ladle most of the sauce into a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat to reduce until slightly thickened, about 30 minutes.
7 Pour the sauce back in the cooker and cook on high for 30 minutes to 1 hour longer.
8 Stir in the sugar and season with salt to taste.