RECIPE
MyGlob Editorial May 25, 2026 2 min read
Be Sampi Mesitsit: Balinese Dry Shredded Spiced Beef (2026)
Make Be Sampi Mesitsit, the addictive Balinese dish of hand-shredded beef fried with spice paste until dry, crisp and intensely flavoured. Ingredients, method and tips.
MyGlob Editorial May 25, 2026 2 min read
Be Sampi Mesitsit is one of those Balinese dishes that ruins you for ordinary beef. Be sampi means beef and mesitsit refers to meat that has been pulled or shredded into fine threads. The beef is first simmered until tender, then teased apart by hand and fried with a generous amount of spice paste until almost all the moisture has gone, leaving dark, savoury, slightly crisp strands packed with flavour.
Ingredients
- 600 g beef shin, brisket or chuck (cuts that shred well)
- 2 stalks lemongrass, bruised
- 3 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 salam (Indonesian bay) leaf
- 4 tablespoons coconut oil for frying
- Salt and palm sugar to taste
- 8 shallots
- 5 cloves garlic
- 6 large red chillies, plus 4 bird's eye chillies for heat
- 3 cm fresh turmeric
- 4 cm galangal
- 3 candlenuts
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, toasted and ground
- 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, ground
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste (terasi), toasted
- Put the beef in a pot with the lemongrass, two of the kaffir lime leaves, the salam leaf and a good pinch of salt. Cover with water and simmer gently for 60 to 90 minutes until very tender. Reserve a cup of the cooking liquid, then cool the beef.
- Using two forks or your fingers, shred the cooled beef into fine threads. The finer you pull it, the better the final texture.
- Blend all the spice paste ingredients into a smooth paste.
- Heat the coconut oil in a wide pan, add the paste and the remaining kaffir lime leaf, and fry over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes until darkened, fragrant and the oil separates.
- Add the shredded beef and toss thoroughly to coat every strand in the paste. Pour in a splash of the reserved cooking liquid to help everything come together.
- Keep frying and stirring patiently over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the liquid has cooked away and the beef turns dark, dry and starting to crisp at the edges.
- Season with salt and a touch of palm sugar to balance, then serve warm or at room temperature.
Method
- 1Because it is cooked dry, mesitsit keeps well and travels well, which made it a practical dish long before refrigeration. Today it turns up as a side at feasts, as a topping for rice, and as the thing everyone keeps picking at from the serving plate. It takes a little patience but the technique is simple, and the reward is a deeply concentrated, chilli-laced beef you will want to make again and again.
- 2Serves 4 as a side:
- 3For the spice paste:
- 4Choose a cut with some connective tissue, such as shin or brisket. These break down into tender, separable threads, whereas lean cuts can turn dry and stringy in the wrong way.
- 5The slow, dry frying at the end is the whole point. Resist the urge to rush it; you want the moisture to evaporate so the spices cling and concentrate onto the beef rather than sitting in a wet sauce.
- 6Adjust the chilli to your tolerance, but mesitsit is meant to carry real heat and a savoury punch since it is eaten in small amounts with lots of rice. Removing the chilli seeds tames it without losing flavour.
- 7Stored in an airtight container in the fridge, mesitsit keeps for several days and the flavour only deepens. Sprinkle it over plain rice, tuck it into nasi campur, or serve it as part of a Balinese spread alongside sambal matah and fresh vegetables.
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Quick Answer
Be Sampi Mesitsit is Balinese dry shredded spiced beef, made by simmering and frying beef with a robust spice paste of chili, garlic, shallots, ginger and aromatics until it becomes dry, tender and intensely flavoured. It is typically served in small portions as part of a Balinese rice plate.
Key Facts
- Cuisine
- Balinese / Indonesian
- Main Ingredient
- Beef
- Texture
- Dry, shredded, tender
- Flavour
- Savoury, spicy, aromatic
- Best For
- Rice plates (nasi campur)
- Region
- Bali, Indonesia
Key Takeaways
- A Balinese dish of shredded beef cooked dry with a rich spice paste
- Slow-cooked until tender, then reduced and fried for intense flavour
- Bold and savoury, with chili, garlic, shallots and aromatics
- Usually served in small amounts as part of a mixed rice plate
- Keeps well, making it a practical and flavour-packed dish
Frequently Asked Questions
It is a Balinese dish of beef shredded and slow-cooked with spices until dry, tender and richly flavoured.