Kelantan Beef Floss ~ Serunding Daging - Kelantan MFF #6

Beef serunding or beef floss is a Kelantan specialty. Some also call it as beef sambal or sambal daging in the Malay language. It is said that a properly made serunding can be kept for a year without referigeration.

I was itching to try making this, but was hesitating and hesitating and hesitating.
Finally I did, just last week! LOL.
I can't stop thinking about all these Kelantanese delights because they all reminded me of my lovely holiday there many years ago.

Formed into a conical pile.. just like how I saw it there at the market in Kota Bahru

I did buy some beef floss in Kelantan before, but I don't quite remember the taste.

This recipe is said to come from the famous Kampung Orang Laut, Kelantan, which translates as the Sea People village.
I adapted the recipe slightly for 1/4 of the original and regretted I used a lower ratio of fennel. Frankly I am not big fan of coriander seeds, especially when it's the dominant spice flavour. Just a personal preference thingy.

I also pressed my beef using the mortar and pestle because I didn't floss them enough initially. It was hard to get them really fine with just the wok's spatula, unless I boiled the beef for 4 hours, and that will render the beef tasteless. Something I don't want to do.

Beef Serunding of Kelantan
Original source: E Serunding

Makes about 5 cups

500gm beef
70gm coconut milk
1 Tbsp kerisik (toasted and pounded coconut)
30gm tamarind pulp, rubbed with 125ml warm water, strained
65gm palm sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup oil

Dry spices
30gm coriander seeds
20gm fennel seeds
10 dried chillies, seeds removed

Paste
15gm peeled galangal
15gm peeled ginger
2 pcs of lemongrass (use only 3 inches from the base)
50gm onion (1 small bulb)
10gm garlic (2 large cloves)

1. Cut beef into thick slices across the grain. Gently simmer it for 1.5-2 hours or until it feels tender. Cool it and shred finely
2. Toast coriander and fennel in a dry pan until fragrant. Grind them finely together with dried chilli. Set aside
3. Grind galangal, ginger and lemon grass together.Add in onion and garlic and grind until fine. (you can choose to grind everything together)
4. Heat a wok/pan on medium heat and put in 1/4 cup of oil. Saute the paste until fragrant. Turn heat to low. Add in the dry spices and saute until it smells really good. Add in coconut milk and let it cook until it exudes oil. Add in kerisik and cook everything until it looks almost dry.
5. Put in tamarind juice and palm sugar and cook until the sugar is melted. add salt.
6. With medium low heat, Add in beef floss and toss everything around to prevent burning. As you move the beef around press it with the spatula to flatten the beef floss.
7. Cook the beef serunding until it feels dry to touch.

*Use a  pestle to help further 'floss' the beef in the wok by pressing and twisiting. Or you can transfer the floss to a mortar and press with the pestle.

I am submitting this to Malaysian Food Fest Kelantan Month hosted by Gertrude of My Kitchen Snippets