Spicy Beef and Spinach Stir-Fry

When you were a kid, what did your parents do to make sure that you'll finish your dinner?

Most Western parents I know would just tell their kids that if they don't finish everything on their plate, there'd be no dessert. Or that the kids won't be excused from the dinner table until they gobble everything up. Simple, direct and spot on. Indonesian parents, however, prefer a totally different approach. Either because they don't eat desserts and thus can't use them as a weapon, or because they don't want to be unpopular with the kids, or because of sheer...Indonesian-ness, they choose the scare treatment.

"If you don't finish your food, it will haunt you down in hell."

"Those leftover rice grains will run after you in hell!"

That's actually what my parents said. Or, to be accurate, what my nanny said. And the nanny after that and the nanny after that and the nanny after that. I used to have trouble sleeping at night, images of giant rice grains  running after me, their arms spread out and their little white legs scurrying quickly behind me. I'd pray, "God, please forgive me for not eating those rice grains. I'll finish my food next time. Please don't let them run after me in hell." At that age I was yet to have a clear idea of hell, but I knew that it wasn't a pleasant place, and I was sure that I wouldn't want to have the extra trouble of having food chasing after me. I was also concerned about how stinky the food would be after an eternity of waiting for me to arrive in hell. How I could trouble myself with all these things at the age of eight, I'd never understand.

What do you know...The scare treatment works.

As it turns out, my nannies weren't the only creative ones. My friends, too, have been manipulated by their well-intentioned elders, using all the emotions in the book. Take your pick if you wish to go down this path of parenthood as well:

Guilt: "If you don't finish your rice, Dewi Sri (the goddess of rice in Indonesian mythologies) will cry!" (This one makes me laugh! Which kid cares if Dewi Sri cries?! I was a decent kid, but I didn't give Dewi Sri any thought. I was more scared of the thought that I'd be making some potentially supernatural woman upset. What would she do to me?)

Sympathy: "The rice wants to be eaten by you so badly; if you don't eat it, it will be sad. Don't you feel sorry for them?"

Absolute shocking ridiculousness: "The rice grains used to be big, but because people didn't finish eating them, they became upset and then became small. You have to eat them!"

Something must be said of the effectiveness of this method though...To this day, I still can't leave any rice grains uneaten on my plate. I might leave out bits of meat and vegs that I don't like, but I'll chase those little rice grains before they have any chance of chasing me. 

And now, another form of wisdom that was passed on to me by one of my nannies...Spicy Beef and Spinach Stir-Fry.

For 2 people

350 grams lean minced beef

3 big handfuls of spinach leaves, washed

as much Indonesian sambal as you want 

salty soy sauce to taste

sweet soy sauce (Indonesian kecap manis) to taste

Heat up a little bit of oil on a pan. Sautee the minced beef, breaking them up with a spatula as you go to prevent large chunks of beef. Once they are just cooked through, tip the pan to one side and drain the fat that gathers. I like to drain all the fat -- there will be enough oil added from the sambal later on. Add as much sambal as you like (defrosted if it was previously frozen) and mix well.

Add the spinach leaves to the pan.

Stir everything well. The spinach will slowly wilt.

Add some salty soy sauce and sweet soy sauce to taste, and mix well.

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Don't let the spinach wilt too much before taking this dish off the heat -- the spinach will continue to wilt and cook from the residual heat. Taste for seasoning and serve with lots and lots of rice.

Bon appetit!