Semur (Indonesian stew)

Semur

Semur daging, Indonesian beef stew with potato, sprinkled with fried shallot
Alternative names	Smoor (Dutch dialect)
Course	Main course
Place of origin	Indonesia
Region or state	Nationwide
Created by	Indonesian adaptation of Dutch stew "Smoor"
Serving temperature	Hot or room temperature
Main ingredients	Beef and potato simmered in kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) spiced with garlic, shallot, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon, sprinkled with bawang goreng (fried shallot)
Variations	Beef tongue, chicken, tofu, eggs, fish

Semur is a type of meat stew (mainly beef), that is braised in thick brown gravy commonly found in Indonesian cuisine. The main ingredient used in semur gravy is kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), shallots, onions, garlic, ginger, candlenut, nutmeg and cloves, sometimes pepper, coriander, cumin and cinnamon might be added. Soy sauce is the most important ingredient in the Semur-making process because it serves to strengthen the flavor, but it should still blended harmoniously with other ingredients. In addition to the spices and seasonings, semur also consists of wide range of body of main ingredients with variation in the presentation, such as meat (mainly beef), beef tongue, potato, tofu, tomato, tempeh, eggs, chicken, fish and often sprinkled with bawang goreng (fried shallot) or other variations according to the tastes of the communities in each regions.

Semur derived from the Dutch language Smoor, which means food that has been smothered with something, in this case tomatoes and onions.

History shows that the dish of marinated boiled meat in Indonesia has been known since the 9th century CE in ancient Java. This can be seen from some of the inscriptions, and reliefs of the temples in Java that tells "Ganan, hadanan prana wdus" or "buffaloes and goats served with vegetables". However, whether the buffalo and goat meat mentioned in these records was the same dishes like stews today is still uncertain.