Beef Rendang
Beef slow-cooked in coconut and spices until dry, dark and intensely flavored
- Serves
- 6
- Hands-on
- Total
- Level
- Project
Rendang comes from the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, where it's cooked for celebrations. Beef simmers for hours in coconut milk with a paste of chilies, shallots, lemongrass and galangal until the liquid is gone and the meat fries in the coconut oil left behind, turning dark and caramelized. It's a dry curry — each piece is coated, not swimming.
Ingredients
Spice paste
- 8shallotsabout 150 g, peeled
- 5 clovesgarlic
- 4 cmfresh galangalor ginger, sliced
- 3 cmfresh gingersliced
- 3 cmfresh turmericor 1 tsp ground
- 10dried red chiliessoaked in hot water 15 minutes, seeds removed
- 3fresh red chilies
- 2 tbspneutral oilfor blending
Rendang
- 1¼ kgbeef chuck or brisket (2½ lb)in 5 cm chunks
- 2 tbspneutral oil
- 3lemongrass stalksbruised and tied in knots
- 6makrut lime leavestorn
- 1cinnamon stick
- 3star anise
- 4cardamom podscracked
- 2 canscoconut milk (2 × 14 oz)2 × 400 ml, full fat
- 200 mlwater (¾ cup + 1 tbsp)
- 1 tbsptamarind paste
- 1 tbsppalm or brown sugar
- 12 gfine sea salt (2 tsp)to taste
- 50 gdesiccated coconut (⅔ cup)for kerisik
- Diet
- Gluten-free, Dairy-free
- Allergens
- None of the EU 14
- Origin
- Indonesia (West Sumatra) and Malaysia
Method
- Blend the paste ingredients to a smooth purée, adding a little soaking water if needed.
- Make the kerisik: toast the coconut in a dry frying pan over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until deep golden brown, 5–7 minutes. Pound or blend to a damp, oily paste.
- Heat the oil in a wide heavy pot over medium heat. Fry the spice paste with the lemongrass, lime leaves, cinnamon, star anise and cardamom, stirring, until it darkens and the oil separates, 8–10 minutes.
- Add the beef and stir to coat. Add the coconut milk, water, tamarind, sugar and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer uncovered, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 hours. The liquid will slowly reduce.
- Stir in the kerisik. Keep cooking, stirring more often as the sauce thickens, until almost all the liquid has gone and the oil separates out, 45–60 minutes. The beef will be well past 90°C (195°F) and tender enough to break with a spoon.
- Now fry: stir constantly over medium-low heat as the beef fries in the coconut oil, until the paste clinging to it turns dark brown and the meat looks dry and caramelized, 15–20 minutes. Don't let it catch on the bottom.
- Remove the lemongrass, cinnamon and star anise. Taste for salt. Rest at least 15 minutes, and serve with rice (Perfect Rice).
Why it works
As the coconut milk reduces over hours, its water evaporates and its fat separates out; the beef then fries in that coconut oil with the spice paste, which caramelizes into a dark, intense coating. Chuck's collagen softens during the long simmer, so the meat is tender before the frying stage. Toasted coconut paste (kerisik) thickens the sauce and adds a nutty, roasted depth.
Common mistakes
- Stopping when it still looks like a saucy curry. Proper rendang is nearly dry.
- Not stirring at the end — it catches and burns quickly.
- Using lean beef, which dries out over the long cook.
Variations
- Rendang ayam (chicken)
- Use 1.2 kg bone-in chicken thighs and cut the simmering time to 1 hour before reducing.
- Wetter Malaysian style
- Stop before the frying stage, while there's still thick sauce, as many Malaysian cooks prefer.
Make ahead and storage
Rendang was made to keep: it's better after a day or two and keeps 5 days in the fridge. Freezes for 3 months.
Notes
Galangal, lemongrass and makrut lime leaves are sold fresh or frozen in Asian grocers. Lime zest can stand in for lime leaves.
