Konro is an Indonesian dish made with beef ribs cooked in a spicy sauce that turns into a rich soup. The sauce is made with ground and fried spices, including kluwak nuts and galanga. It can be served with compressed rice or grilled ribs.
Konro is an Indonesian dish of ribs cooked in a spicy sauce that turns into a rich soup once the meat has finished cooking. The meat used to make konro is usually beef ribs. Different kinds of spices are ground and fried until fragrant to make the sauce in which the meat will cook. Once complete, the soup can be served with compressed rice or rice cooked in coconut milk. A grilled version of konro is made in much the same way, except the ribs are removed from the soup and grilled before serving.
The main ingredient in konro soup is beef ribs. Some recipes call for the ribs to be cut into individual strips with the bone left in each piece, while others leave the entire rack intact for the cooking process. Sometimes the meat is seared before being added to the soup liquid or it may be tenderized by boiling in water or marinated in pineapple juice.
True konro soup begins with a blend or paste of ground spices. The most common ingredients are coriander, pepper, garlic and onions or shallots. Tamarind paste, tamarind powder, or tamarind cubes are also added. This paste is fried to develop its flavors before adding water and ribs. Other ingredients, such as cinnamon, cloves and sugar, are included in some recipes.
A few unique ingredients are used in the cooking of konro soup, with the most prominent being the kluwak nuts. These nuts are black inside when ripe and need to be boiled to become tender enough to use. The ground kluwak nuts provide the dark coloring of the soup, making it almost black and adding a unique flavor.
Galanga is another ingredient found in many konro soup recipes. This is a rhizome that looks like ginger but actually tastes different, similar to citrus. The galangal in the soup is mashed into a paste and fried together with the other spices to allow the flavors to develop.
Once all the spices have been fried, the water and the ribs are added to the pot and simmered until the meat is done cooking. The dish can be served by placing the soup in a bowl and placing the ribs so that they are in the center, immersed in the liquid. The ribs can also be taken out of the soup and grilled, then served with the soup in a separate dish. Some common side dishes served with konro soup include steamed or boiled rice cakes wrapped in palm leaves and peanuts or almonds.
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