Sup Brenebon: Soup with Beef & Kidney Beans

Brenebon soup is a Dutch-influenced kidney beans soup, with a meat stock as its base. The dish originates in Manado, where pig’s trotters are used for the broth. Our version is the halal Javanese one, using beef ribs.

📝 Ingredients

• 500 gr beef ribs
• 2 lt water
• 2 cm fresh ginger, peeled, bruised
• 3 cm cinnamon stick
• 4 cloves
• 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
• 3 small celery stalks (1 knotted, and the others sliced)
• 9 shallots, peeled, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled, thinly sliced
• 0.5 tsp white pepper powder
• 1 can (around 15 oz) kidney beans, drained
• 2 medium carrots, peeled, cut into bite sizes
• 1 spring onions, cut into 2 cm pisces
• 1 medium tomato, quartered
• Salt to taste
• Pinch of sugar (optional)
• 2 tbsp olive oil or 1 tbsp butter/margarine

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1Wash the beef ribs thoroughly, and put it in a deep cooking pan. Cover with water and add ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and the knotted celery. Bring the soup to boil over medium high heat.
2. 2When the soup boils, lower the heat to medium low, cover the pan (slightly open the cover) and simmer the soup.
3. 3Meanwhile, heat the olive oil or butter/margarine, and sauté the sliced shallots and garlic until fragrant, around 3 minutes.
4. 4Add the sautéed shallots and garlic to the soup.
5. 5Add white pepper powder, salt and sugar.
6. 6Continue to simmer the soup. The total cooking time from when the soup boils until it’s done is about 1.5 hours.
7. 710 minutes before the soup is done, add the kidney beans, and carrots.
8. 82 minutes before the soup is done, add tomato slices, spring onion and sliced celery stalks.
9. 9Turn off the heat and cover the pan. Let the soup rest for a while before serving.