Beef Suya

How to Make Beef Suya

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1. Blitz the peanuts to a fine powder, then press them between sheets of kitchen paper to blot out as much oil as possible. Repeat until the powder is dry and loose.

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2. Combine the peanut powder with all the other spice ingredients. This is yaji, and it keeps for a month in a jar.

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3. Freeze the beef for 30 minutes, then slice it as thinly as you can manage against the grain.

   Mark done Start 30 min timer

4. Toss the beef with the oil, then with two-thirds of the yaji, working it in with your hands.

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5. Marinate 1 to 4 hours in the fridge.

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6. Thread the slices onto skewers in loose folds rather than tightly packed, so heat can reach every surface.

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7. Grill over hot coals or on a very hot griddle for 2 to 3 minutes a side. The beef is thin and cooks almost instantly.

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8. Look for charred edges. Do not cook past medium or the meat toughens.

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9. Dust generously with the remaining raw yaji the moment they come off the heat, and serve with raw onion, tomato and lime.

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Ingredient substitutions.

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Notes for Getting It Right

• Blot the peanut oil out. Oily yaji burns black on the grill instead of toasting.
• Slice the beef very thin, which is far easier after half an hour in the freezer.
• The second dusting of raw spice at the end is not optional — it is where the aroma comes from.

If You're Missing Something

• Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.

What Goes With Beef Suya

• Cold beer
• Raw onion, tomato and lime
• More suya

Keeping and Reheating

The yaji keeps 1 month in an airtight jar. Marinated raw beef keeps 2 days; grilled suya is best eaten immediately.

Beef Suya: Questions and Answers

What's in a Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

Gluten-free when made with stock cube labelled gluten-free.

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