AI-generated image

Kulwa

Name: Kulwa
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Cuisine: Eritrean
Ingredients: 600 g beef sirloin or rump; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 red onion; 2 green chillies; 2 garlic cloves; 1 rosemary sprig; 2 tbsp spiced clarified butter (tesmi) or ghee; 1 tsp berbere spice; 0.75 tsp salt

Eritrean pan-fried beef with onion, rosemary and berbere butter

Features:

High protein Quick

Cuisine:

Eritrean

Kulwa (also called tibsi in parts of the Horn) is the fast, sizzling beef dish that Eritrean restaurants in Asmara and Massawa bring to the table in a hot clay dish: small strips of beef fried hard with onion, green chilli, a sprig of rosemary and a spoon of spiced butter, with a dusting of berbere. It is eaten with injera or bread as a weekend treat. The mistake is overcooking the beef until dry: it needs only a few minutes over high heat. Chef's tip: let the pan get really hot before adding the meat, and serve it still sizzling.

Total time: 25 min
Difficulty: easy
Serves: 4

One step at a time, big text, timers, read-aloud. Your screen stays on.

Ingredients

Serves4

1 ⅓ lb beef sirloin or rumpin thin strips
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 red onionsliced
2 green chilliessliced
2 garlic clovessliced
1 rosemary sprig
2 tbsp spiced clarified butter (tesmi) or ghee
1 tsp berbere spice
¾ tsp salt

Shop this recipe on Amazon

Spices & pantry

Fresh ingredients (4)

Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.

Method

0/5 done

Step 1: Pat 1 ⅓ lb beef sirloin or rump dry. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a heavy frying pan over a high heat until smoking.
Step 2: Add the beef in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes without moving, then stir-fry for 1 minute. Lift out. Cook in 2 batches if your pan is small.
5 min
Step 3: Add 1 red onion, 2 green chillies, 2 garlic cloves and 1 rosemary sprig and stir-fry for 3 minutes until the onion softens at the edges.
3 min
Step 4: Return the beef with 2 tbsp spiced clarified butter (tesmi) or ghee, 1 tsp berbere spice and ¾ tsp salt and toss for 1–2 minutes until glossy and sizzling. The strips should be browned outside; the centre of a strip should reach 145°F; for young children or pregnant guests cook until no pink remains (160°F).
2 min
Step 5: Serve at once with injera or bread.

Nutrition per serving

Calories: 360 kcal
Protein: 32 g
Carbs: 6 g
Fat: 23 g
Fibre: 1 g

Nutrition values are estimates.

Recipe by

KrazyBadal

All recipes by this chef →

Good to know

How long does kulwa take?: About 25 minutes in total: 10 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
How many people does it serve?: 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
Is it gluten free?: Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
Is it very spicy?: It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
What can I use instead of red onion?: White onion or shallots, same amount (soak raw onion in cold water for 10 minutes to soften it).
What can I use instead of garlic cloves?: ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.

Rate this recipe

Pork souvlaki

This is a pork recipe. Walk through any Greek town after dark, from Athens to Thessaloniki, and the smell of souvlaki stands drifts down the street; cubes of pork shoulder grilled on thin skewers are the country's favourite cheap supper, eaten standing up or at a plastic-table taverna. At home you marinate the meat in lemon, olive oil, garlic and dried oregano, grill it hard and fast, and pile it on warm pitta with tzatziki, tomato and red onion. Chef's tip: cut the pork into even 2.5 cm cubes and leave a little fat on; lean loin dries out, shoulder stays juicy over high heat.

32 min

Greek Meat

by KrazyBadal 1 views

Tteokgalbi

Tteokgalbi is rib meat chopped finely, pressed back into neat slabs and grilled, so it's soft enough to eat without struggling with a bone. Two places in South Jeolla claim it: Damyang, the bamboo county, where all-beef patties come with rice steamed in bamboo tubes, and Gwangju's Songjeong district, whose restaurant street near the railway station mixes beef with pork. This home version uses minced beef and pork, seasoned with soy, garlic and pear, then brushed with a soy and honey glaze as it cooks. Serve with rice, lettuce and a few banchan; leftovers are good cold in a lunchbox. Chef's tip: slap the mince against the bowl for a few minutes; it turns sticky and the patties hold together on the grill without any breadcrumbs.

60 min

Korean Meat

by KrazyBadal 1 views

Char siu

Hanging in long glossy strips in the windows of Guangzhou's siu mei shops, char siu is the roast pork Cantonese families pick up on the way home to put on rice, noodles or into steamed buns. The outside is lacquered, sweet and a little charred at the edges; the inside stays juicy, savoury and faintly scented with five-spice. Shoulder (pork butt) is the cut to use, because its marbling keeps the strips moist through a hot oven. Marinate it overnight in the fridge, roast it the next day and eat it warm with steamed rice and blanched greens, or cold in fried rice and noodle soups. Chef's tip: save the honey for the last ten minutes; brushed on at the start it burns black long before the pork is cooked.

120 min