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Eurasian Beef Smore, a Eurasian Recipe from Singapore and Malaysia

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Eurasian Beef stew with carrots and ginger

Eurasian Beef Smore

Eurasian Beef Smore is not your sweet confectionery kinda Smore. It is a STEW, a delightful Beef Stew from the Eurasian community in Singapore and Malaysia. Quite different from the Sri Lankan Beef Smore!

Like many Singaporean and Malaysian Eurasian recipes, the Eurasian Beef Smore has its origins in Portuguese Malacca. And like so many Eurasian dishes, this one has a European base with Asian spices and flavouring.

a sprinkling of fresh ginger is always good

a sprinkling of fresh ginger is always good

What is a Eurasian?

Eurasian, as its name implies, is a mix of European and Asian. Generally speaking, in Singapore and Malaysia, Eurasian food is a mix of Asian food with a strong Portuguese influence, although the term Eurasian was initially coined for Anglo Indians in the time of the British Raj in India. These days, with the countless intermarriages, the term encompasses all manner of Caucasian heritage.

Click here to read more about the Eurasians, as well as the other ethnic mixes that make up the populations of Singapore and Malaysia 

What is Singapore and Malaysian Food?

Eurasian Beef Stew

You’ll see a strong resemblance to many European beef stews, but the Eurasian Beef Smore is a much darker version because of the added soy sauces and of course, you can’t miss the julienned ginger. It’s cooked with carrots and potatoes and is eaten with a plate of hot steaming white rice although my favourite method is with liberally buttered crusty bread or some mashed potatoes.

On a slight tangent, the picture below shows you a hotel on the banks of Malacca River or Sungei Melaka in Malay. Its architecture is very heavily Portuguese influenced, as is its name, Casa del Rio.

Casa del Rio, a hotel on the bank of the Malacca river

Scones in Eurasian Beef Smore

The traditional method of making the Eurasian Beef Smore is to crumble a scone or two (yes, really) at the end of the cooking, as a thickening agent. I omit this and go with the flour at the start method.

Another change I’ve made over the years is also to add more European style stew-friendly vegetables, namely leek and celery, stopping short of parsnip and swede, as those will alter the final taste tremendously. And we don’t want that! 

Another thing that I’ve also done is to use sundried tomato paste instead of straight up tomato purée. Sundried tomato paste lends amazing depth to any recipe you use it in, and is a favourite and quite often, secret ingredient of mine.

Eurasian Beef Smore

I love all the vegetables in there!

A word on the potatoes. You can vary the amount depending on what you plan to serve it with. Naturally, use less spuds if you’re having it with mash. And, the more potatoes you have, the thicker the end result. Here, I’ve specified 4 potatoes which will give each diner about 4 quarters.

Another thing to remember is to cut the vegetable and meat to about the same size, ie., bite size. The leeks will naturally almost disappear but the rest should hold their shape.

Click here to read up on Soy Sauces if you’re not sure of the different kinds.

More Singaporean and Malaysian Recipes on LinsFood

 Singgang Serani:

You will just love this Eurasian Fish Curry!

Singgang Serani, a Eurasian Fish Curry

Singgang Serani, a Eurasian Fish Curry

♥ Do you like this recipe? Please give it a 5-star rating below! And when you make it, share it on Instagram or any other social medium and tag me @azlinbloor. Thank you! … Lin ♥

Eurasian Beef Smore

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54 ratings
Eurasian Beef Smore
Prep Time:
1 hour
Cook Time:
1 hour, 40 minutes
Total Time:
2 hours, 40 minutes

Eurasian Beef Smore is a delicious thick and dark rich beef stew from the Eurasian community in Singapore and Malaysia. It has a European base, with Asian flavourings.

Yield: Serves 6
Category: Main Course with Rice or Bread
Cuisine: Eurasian, Singaporean and Malaysian
Eurasian Beef Smore
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Ingredients

  • 500g (1.1lb) stewing beef, diced to slightly bigger than bitesized pieces
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 cloves
  • 2 large onions, quartered
  • 4 cloves garlic, sliced widthwise
  • 7.5cm (3") ginger, julienned (in strips)
  • 1 large carrot, chopped into similar sized chunks as the beef
  • 1 celery, chopped as above
  • 1 leek, also chopped to roughly the same size
  • 2 tomatoes, halved
  • 4 medium potatoes, quartered
  • 1 tsp black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp sundried tomato paste
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 Tbsp plain flour (2 if you'd like a slightly thicker stew)
  • 1 litre (4 cups) light beef stock (half strength)
  • fresh coriander leaves (cilantro), chopped, to serve
    Marinade
  • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp kicap manis (sweet soy sauce) or 1 tbsp dark with half tsp sugar
  • dash of light soy sauce
  • 2 tsp clear vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • generous amount of freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  1. Marinade the beef with all the ingredients for about an hour.
  2. Then, heat the oil in a casserole dish or large saucepan on medium heat, and fry the cinnamon stick and cloves for 30 seconds.
  3. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry for a couple of minutes until softened but not brown.
  4. Add the beef, stir to mix and brown for a couple of minutes.
  5. Add the flour and stir thoroughly.
  6. Tip in the rest of the vegetables, apart from the potatoes. So carrot, celery, leek and tomatoes. Stir thoroughly to coat with meat juices. If you like your vegetables like carrots, leeks and celery less cooked, add them with the potatoes, step 8.
  7. Now add the stock, sundried tomato paste and black peppercorns. Stir and bring to boil.
  8. Cover and leave to simmer for about 1 and a half hours.
  9. Add the potatoes, bring to boil and cook until the potatoes are done, about 30 minutes, by which time, the beef will be done too. Remember, if you like your vegetables like carrots, leeks and celery less cooked, add them with the potatoes.
  10. Taste for seasoning and scatter coriander leaves all over and serve with rice, bread or mashed potato.

Notes

The beef needs marinating for about 30-60 minutes.

Nutrition information

Nutrition label for Eurasian Beef Smore
https://www.linsfood.com/eurasian-beef-smore-a-eurasian-recipe/

Comments

  1. OMG! I haven’t had this since I left Singapore over 20 years ago! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am going to make this over the weekend for the family. Thank you for a wonderful explanation of the recipe and also the additions that you have made. I think I will go with your recipe exactly! Have subscribed!

    Reply

  2. I saw this post on Facebook and had to come over to take a look! What a fantastic recipe, definitely more substantial that I remember eating it as a child in Singapore. My mum’s was always a bit more watery, but I really like the idea of the extra vegetables! Thank you, Azlin, from a fellow Singaporean Eurasian!

    Reply

  3. Thank you, Azlin. I remember eating this in my grandmother’s house almost every Sunday when we visited! This looks really good and I love all your own touches here, like the added vegetables and the sundried tomato paste.
    I made this for dinner yesterday exactly as you have written here and the whole family is just in love with it, including my mum who is visiting from Singapore. She’s asked me to print your recipe so she can take it home!
    I am saving this recipe!

    Reply

  4. Being a Singapore Eurasian with a true blue Portuguese Grandmother, Beef S’more was a family traditional dish. Thank you for sharing this recipe. I’ll treasure/share it!

    Reply

  5. This is truly awesome, man. I was doing a search for Eurasian recipes and this came up. I’m so glad I found your website, so many recipes back home for this single Malaysian in Toronto to make! I am slowly planning to look at all your recipes. Have subscribed!

    Reply

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