Beef Tibs
Beef Tibs
Beef tibs is a popular Ethiopian dish using berbere spice; one of the building blocks of East African cuisine. Berbere is the Ethiopian equivalent of a chili powder, but with a lot more ingredients. Onions, garlic, ginger, and berbere are sautéed in niter kibbeh, an Ethiopian spiced butter, at a low temperature for 30 minutes. If you try to cook the onions down at a higher tempature, the will burn. This is a slow process. Then the onion mix is pulsed a few times in a food processor until it becomes a chunky sauce. In another sauté pan over high heat, lean cubes of top sirloin are sautéed. Sear then for 3 minutes on the first side without moving them. This will help seal in he juices. Then flip the beef cubes over and sear for 2 more minutes. Turn off the heat and toss in the chunky onion sauce. Serve the beef tibs with injera and sautéed greens.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter or niter kibbeh
- 1 large white onion diced
- 6 garlic cloves chopped
- 3” knob ginger peeled and chopped
- 2 tbsp berbere
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 lb top sirloin trimmed of all fat; cut into 1” cubes
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add in the onions, garlic, ginger, and berbere. Turn the heat down to medium low and slowly sauté for 25-30 minutes.
- Add the onion mix to a food processor.
- Pulse a few times until chunky, but somewhat smooth.
- Season the beef with salt. Heat up cooking oil in a sauté pan over high heat. Add the beef in a single layer. Let the beef sear on one side for 3 minutes without moving.
- Turn the beef over and sauté for 2 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and toss in the onion purée.
Berbere Spice
Berbere spice is a building block for all East African cuisine. It has a nice smokey and spicy taste. It is the main spice ingredient in Zigni, Doro Wat, and many other Ethiopian, Eritrean, and Somali dishes. Berbere spice is great on meat, fish, vegetables, and eggs.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp smoked paprika
- 2 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 tbsp granulated garlic
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tbsp fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 tbsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cardamom
Instructions
- If you have any whole spices, lightly dry toast them in a pan for a couple of minutes. Then grind them in a coffee grinder used for spices only, or grind them by hand in a mortar and pestle. Mix all the spices together.
Injera
Injera is an East African staple, eaten with just about every meal. Similar in appearance to a buckwheat crepe, the injera is made out of teff flour. Teff is a grain grown in Ethiopia and Eritrea. The flour is mixed into a thin pancake like batter. The batter is left to ferment in the refrigerator for 2 days, giving the injera a flavor similar to sourdough. When ready to cook, ladle some of the batter on an oiled nonstick pan over high heat. The injera takes no more than 2 minutes to make, with no flipping required. The batter is thin enough to cook completely through. The injera is torn and eaten as a scoop for your food.
Equipment
- upright mixer
Ingredients
- 2 cups teff flour
- 1/2 package dry active yeast
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 2 cups water
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients except the salt in an upright mixer for a minute.
- Add the salt and blend for 15 seconds.
- Cover the batter and let sit in the refrigerator for 2 days.
- Lightly oil a nonstick pan over high heat. Pour a ladles worth of the batter into the pan, making a circular shape.
- Cook on 1 side for up to 2 minutes. No flipping required.
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