🇪🇹 Ethiopian · Beef & Lamb Dishes
🥩 Ethiopian Awaze Tibs
አዋዜ ጥብስ — Awaze Tibs
Ethiopian Awaze Tibs — beef cubes marinated in awaze (spiced chilli paste) for 30 minutes, then sautéed hot in kibbeh with onion and rosemary. The awaze marinade infuses the beef deeply, producing the most intensely flavoured tibs variation.
Awaze Tibs uses the pre-marination step that standard tibs omits — the beef soaks in awaze for 30 minutes, allowing the chilli-vinegar-spice mixture to penetrate before the high-heat sauté. The result is tibs of greater depth and heat.
Ingredients
Equipment: Cast iron pan
- 600g beef sirloin — cubed
- 2 tbsp awaze
- 3 tbsp kibbeh
- 1 onion — diced
- 2 tomatoes — diced
- 2 jalapeños
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 tsp salt
Method
- Toss beef cubes in awaze. Marinate 30 minutes.
- Heat kibbeh until smoking.
- Sear marinated beef — 2 minutes per side.
- Add onion, garlic, jalapeño, rosemary, tomatoes.
- Toss and cook 3 more minutes.
- Season.
Chef Tips
- The awaze marinade caramelises magnificently on the beef surface.
- The 30 minutes of marination is the key step.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Skipping the marination.
The Science
Awaze contains vinegar — the acetic acid partially denatures surface proteins on the beef, creating small channels for the chilli compounds to penetrate. When the marinated beef is seared, these surface proteins caramelise rapidly, locking in the awaze flavours.
Nutrition (per serving)
Health Benefits
- High protein.
- Awaze capsaicin is thermogenic.
Cultural Note
Awaze Tibs is for those who want the maximum flavour experience from their tibs — the pre-marination step is the difference between good and extraordinary.
Storage & Serving
Storage: Best eaten immediately.
Reheating: Briefly in kibbeh.
Serve with: Injera (ETH001), Ayib (ETH096)