III

Chapter · Stoofpotten

Stews & Braises

Slow pots: hachee darkened with onions and vinegar, Limburg zuurvlees, and the sweet-sour braises the Golden Age left behind.

Stews

The Indies at Home

Kip Ketjap (Chicken in Sweet Soy)

Kip ketjap

Chicken braised in sweet soy with garlic, ginger and onion until dark and sticky — the easy Indo-Dutch weeknight dish that made ketjap manis a Dutch pantry staple.

55 minBeginner

Stews

Holland

Runderlappen (Braised Beef Slices)

Runderlappen

The foundational Dutch braise — thick beef slices browned in butter and simmered hours in a dark, mustard-sharpened jus until fork-tender. Sunday food.

200 minBeginner

Stews

The Indies at Home

Telur Balado (Eggs in Chile Sauce)

Telur balado

Hard-boiled eggs fried crisp and coated in a fiery Minangkabau red-chilli sambal — a vivid, spicy side that lights up the Dutch-Indo rijsttafel.

45 minBeginner

Bruine Bonen met Spek (Brown Beans with Bacon)

Stews

Holland

Bruine Bonen met Spek (Brown Beans with Bacon)

Bruine Bonen met Spek

The Dutch brown-bean pot — dried bruine bonen slow-simmered with smoked bacon and onion, finished sweet-sour with syrup and vinegar. Deep winter thrift food.

140 minBeginner

Sayur Lodeh (Vegetables in Coconut Broth)

Stews

The Indies at Home

Sayur Lodeh (Vegetables in Coconut Broth)

Sayur lodeh

A gentle Javanese vegetable stew in a spiced coconut broth — the mild, soothing dish that balances the fire of the Dutch-Indo rijsttafel.

55 minBeginner

Stews

Noord-Brabant

Spek en Bonen (Bacon & Beans)

Spek en Bonen

The plain Brabant farmhouse pot — green or runner beans stewed slow with smoked bacon and potato until soft and savoury. Thrift cooking, still loved.

80 minBeginner

Stews

The Indies at Home

Semur (Sweet Soy Braised Beef)

Semur

Beef braised slow in ketjap manis with nutmeg, clove and onion until dark and tender — the Indonesian sweet-soy stew that shows the two-way trade of the Dutch-Indo kitchen.

145 minIntermediate

Stews

Holland

Gehaktballen (Dutch Meatballs in Gravy)

Gehaktballen in Jus

The great Dutch meatball — one fist-sized gehaktbal per person, browned in butter and braised in its own dark jus. The Wednesday-night heart of the table.

80 minBeginner

Stews

Holland

Blinde Vinken (Stuffed Veal Rolls)

Blinde Vinken

"Blind finches" — thin veal escalopes wrapped around a seasoned mince filling, browned in butter and braised soft in their own gravy. A Dutch Sunday classic.

95 minIntermediate

Stews

Holland

Kalfsragout (Creamy Veal Ragout)

Kalfsragout

The pale, elegant Dutch veal ragout — tender veal in a lemon-bright cream sauce, the filling of vol-au-vents and the ancestor of the bitterbal.

100 minIntermediate

Jachtschotel (Hunter's Beef & Potato Bake)

Stews

Holland

Jachtschotel (Hunter's Beef & Potato Bake)

Jachtschotel

The Dutch hunter's dish — braised beef layered with onions and apple under a potato-mash lid, baked golden. Leftover-braise comfort food at its best.

100 minIntermediate

Rode Kool met Appel (Braised Red Cabbage with Apple)

Stews

Holland

Rode Kool met Appel (Braised Red Cabbage with Apple)

Rode Kool met Appel

The Dutch winter side — red cabbage braised slow with apple, clove and a splash of vinegar until sweet, tart and glossy, the classic partner to hachee.

80 minBeginner

Stews

Gelderland

Stoofpeertjes (Spiced Braised Pears)

Stoofpeertjes

Deep-red Dutch braised pears — hard stoofpeertjes simmered slow with wine, cinnamon and clove until wine-dark and tender, served warm beside game or meat.

170 minBeginner

Stews

Holland

Suddervlees (Slow-Simmered Beef)

Suddervlees

The plain, patient Dutch weeknight braise — beef slices left to sudderen, to murmur on the lowest heat, until tender in a simple dark gravy.

195 minBeginner

Stews

The Indies at Home

Babi Pangang (Chinese-Indo Roast Pork)

Babi pangang

Crisp roast pork with a sweet-sour red sauce and pickled vegetables — the Chinees-Indisch restaurant classic that became a Dutch takeaway staple.

120 minIntermediate

Konijn in het Zuur (Soured Braised Rabbit)

Stews

Limburg

Konijn in het Zuur (Soured Braised Rabbit)

Konijn in 't Zuur

A Limburg braise of rabbit in a sweet-sour gravy — vinegar-marinated, simmered soft, and thickened with gingerbread and apple syrup like its zuurvlees cousin.

150 minIntermediate

Sambal Goreng Boontjes (Spiced Green Beans)

Stews

The Indies at Home

Sambal Goreng Boontjes (Spiced Green Beans)

Sambal goreng boontjes

Green beans stewed in a chilli-and-coconut sambal until glossy and fragrant — the little side dish that turns up on nearly every Dutch-Indo rijsttafel.

45 minBeginner

Stews

Gelderland

Hazenpeper (Jugged Hare)

Hazenpeper

The old Dutch game braise — hare marinated in red wine and vinegar, then simmered dark and thickened with its own blood or a spoon of gingerbread.

190 minAdvanced

Draadjesvlees (Long-Braised Shredded Beef)

Stews

Holland

Draadjesvlees (Long-Braised Shredded Beef)

Draadjesvlees

The Dutch Sunday braise cooked until the beef falls into fine threads — draadjesvlees, simmered low with clove and bay in its own dark gravy.

230 minBeginner

Stews

The Indies at Home

Rendang (Slow-Cooked Spiced Beef)

Rendang

The Minangkabau beef simmered for hours in coconut milk and spice until dark, dry and intense — a West Sumatran masterpiece that anchors the Dutch-Indo rijsttafel.

240 minAdvanced

Stews

Limburg

Zuurvlees (Limburg Sweet-Sour Braised Beef)

Zuurvlees

Limburg's sweet-sour braise — beef marinated in vinegar then simmered with apple syrup and gingerbread until the gravy turns dark, glossy and tangy.

210 minIntermediate

Stews

Holland

Hachee (Dutch Onion & Beef Stew)

Hachee

The dark, sour-sweet onion and beef stew of the Dutch winter table — a kilo of onions cooked down with vinegar, cloves and bay until glossy and deep.

210 minBeginner