Paru Berlado Recipe (Beef Lung Balado): Ingredients, Steps and Tips

Paru berlado, or beef lung balado, is a favourite at nasi campur stalls and kenduri. Beef lung with crisp edges, tossed in a spicy and slightly sour red sambal, really whets the appetite. In this guide, we share a home-style paru berlado recipe, including how to clean the lung, how to boil it without a strong smell and how to fry it crisp.

Lado means chilli in the Minang dialect. Sambal lado usually uses coarsely blended red chilli, so the sambal stays a little rough and bright red.

Ingredients for this paru berlado recipe

The amounts below are home estimates for 4 people. Adjust the chillies to suit how much heat your family can take.

For boiling the lung

• Beef lung, 500 g
• Ginger, 3 cm, bruised
• Lemongrass, 2 stalks, bruised
• Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon
• Salt, 1 teaspoon
• Oil for frying

Sambal lado

• Red chillies, 10, coarsely blended
• Bird’s eye chillies, 5 (optional, for more heat)
• Shallots, 8, coarsely blended or sliced
• Garlic, 3 cloves
• Tomato, 1, diced
• Kaffir lime leaves, 3
• Tamarind juice or lime juice, 2 tablespoons
• Sugar and salt to taste

Prep time, cook time and servings

Cleaning the lung takes about 20 minutes. Then boiling takes around 30 to 40 minutes, while frying and cooking the sambal takes about 20 minutes. In total, plan for about 1 hour 20 minutes for 4 people.

How to clean beef lung

Beef lung has many air passages, so it needs careful cleaning. First, rinse the lung under running water and squeeze gently so the blood and froth come out. Repeat a few times until the rinse water runs almost clear.

After that, cut the lung into a few large pieces so it boils easily. Also wash your hands, chopping board and sink after handling raw meat.

How to cook this paru berlado recipe step by step

1. Bring water to the boil with the ginger, lemongrass, turmeric and salt.
2. Add the lung and boil for 30 to 40 minutes until fully cooked, with no red left in the centre.
3. Then drain it and let it cool a little.
4. Slice the lung thinly, about 0.5 cm thick.
5. Heat the oil and fry the slices until crisp at the edges, then drain.
6. Next, pour off the oil and leave about 4 tablespoons in the wok.
7. After that, fry the shallots and garlic until fragrant.
8. Add the blended red chillies and bird’s eye chillies. Stir over medium heat until the sambal is cooked and the oil separates, about 10 minutes.
9. Stir in the tomato, kaffir lime leaves, tamarind juice, sugar and salt.
10. Finally, add the fried lung and toss well. Turn off the heat after 1 to 2 minutes so the lung stays crisp.

Tips for a better paru berlado recipe

• Boil the lung until fully cooked before frying, and do not rely on hot oil alone.
• Drain the lung well after boiling, so the oil does not spit when you fry it.
• Slice it thin for more crunch, or a little thicker if you like a softer bite.
• Toss the lung in the sambal at the last moment, so it does not turn soggy.
• Blend the chillies coarsely, because a very smooth sambal loses the traditional feel.

How to control the heat

This dish is spicy by design. So if children or people who cannot take much heat will eat it, remove the red chilli seeds and leave out the bird’s eye chillies. In addition, a little extra sugar or tomato softens the taste.

For children, however, a mild dish such as our spaghetti carbonara recipe or spaghetti bolognese recipe suits better.

Variations on the paru berlado recipe

Green chilli lado

Swap the red chillies for coarsely blended green chillies. As a result, the taste turns fresher and a little less hot.

Add potatoes or eggs

First, fry thinly sliced potatoes, then toss them with the lung in the same sambal. You can also add boiled eggs to make the dish more filling.

Turmeric fried lung only

If you prefer no heat, serve the fried lung without sambal and put the sambal on the side for adults. For another spicy dish, also try the spicy chicken feet recipe.

Good side dishes

Paru berlado tastes best with hot white rice, a coconut milk vegetable dish and ulam. The creamy vegetables also help to calm the heat. For example, gulai nangka, sayur lodeh or kangkung belacan all sit well on the same table.

At a kenduri, people usually serve paru berlado with rendang and ayam masak merah. So use a shallow dish, because stacked slices turn soft faster.

How to store leftovers

Once the dish cools, keep leftovers in a covered container in the fridge. According to USDA FSIS, you should refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours of cooking and finish them within 3 to 4 days. Then reheat them in a pan until hot all the way through. The lung may lose some crunch, but it still tastes good.

No time to cook? Try the ready-to-eat version

Cleaning, boiling and frying beef lung is a lot of work for a weekday. That is why many people only cook this dish for special events.

MakanHubb makes Paru Berlado Berapi in a retort pack. This beef lung dish is spicy and goes well with hot rice. It also needs no fridge and keeps for 1 to 2 years before opening. You can eat it straight from the pack or soak the pouch in hot water for a few minutes. Prices start from RM17.90 a pack.

For the weekend, also try the laksa johor recipe or the thai laksa recipe.

FAQ about the paru berlado recipe