Caramelised coconut beef

Method

1. For the paste, put the shallots, garlic, lemongrass, chillies and ginger in a deep, heavy casserole over a high heat (see introduction). Toast until charred all over, then remove – the chillies and lemongrass will be done after about 2 minutes, the garlic after 3 and the shallots and ginger after 5. Leave until cool enough to handle, then remove the stalks from the chillies and peel the garlic. Add everything to a blender or food processor.
2. Toast the cumin and coriander seeds, peppercorns, cloves and cardamom for 1 minute in the same casserole, then add to the blender with the fish sauce, palm sugar and 3 tbsp oil. Whizz to a coarse paste, scraping down the sides of the blender and adding a splash of water if needed. The paste doesn’t need to be smooth, but you want the whole spices to have broken down.
3. Add a glug of oil to the pan, then turn the heat up to high. Once smoking hot, season the beef with salt, then fry, in batches, until a deep crusty brown all over (about 5 minutes per batch). When each batch is ready, transfer it to a large bowl.
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4. Turn down the heat to low, throw in the onions and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add 50ml water and stir to deglaze the pan – the water will evaporate almost instantly, but not before it coats the onions in those delicious brown bits stuck to the pan (you’re using the onions and water to ‘clean’ the pan here, saving all that flavour before it burns). Stir-fry for 2 more minutes, then transfer the onions to the beef bowl.
5. Add another drizzle of oil and put the casserole back over a low-medium heat. Add the spice paste and fry for 5 minutes until fragrant. If it starts to catch, add a splash of the coconut milk.
6. Add the coconut milk, peanut butter, soy, star anise and cinnamon, stir to combine, then add the beef and onions. Return to a simmer, then turn down the heat to low, cover and cook for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
7. Uncover and cook for another 2 hours, stirring occasionally. You want slow ‘blips’ from the sauce rather than lots of little bubbles. The sauce will split with oil on top, but this is fine – it’s the sign of a well-cooked coconut mixture. Towards the end of the cooking time, the cubes of beef will become meltingly tender and the sauce will go from pale and milky to a deep, dark brown. Add a splash of water if you need to stop it catching on the base, but remember that the ‘sauce’ in this dish should cling to the meat.
8. Serve with rice topped with a fried egg, with the other toppings (chillies, toasted coconut flakes, coriander leaves) scattered over. Give everyone a big wedge of lime to squeeze over before they tuck in.