Rendang

Ingredients

Bumbu (spice paste)

• 15dried red chillies, soaked in hot water 20 minutes
• 8red long chillies, fresh
• 12shallots
• 8garlic cloves
• 50 ggalangal, peeled
• 40 gginger, peeled
• 30 gfresh turmeric, or 2 tsp ground
• 6candlenuts (kemiri), toasted
• 1 tbspcoriander seed, ground
• 1 tspcumin seed, ground

Stew

• 1.2 kgbeef shin, chuck or brisket, cut into 5 cm pieces
• 1.6 litresthick coconut milk, ideally pressed from 3 fresh coconuts
• 3 stalkslemongrass, bruised and knotted
• 6kaffir lime leaves
• 4salam leaves (Indonesian bay), or 2 bay leaves
• 1turmeric leaf, torn (optional but traditional)
• 1 pieceasam kandis or 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
• 1cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, 2 star anise
• 1 tbspsalt
• 1 tbsppalm sugar

Directions

1. Blend or pound all the bumbu ingredients with a splash of water to a smooth, thick paste. In Minangkabau kitchens this is ground on a stone slab and the texture is finer than a blender gives.
2. Put the coconut milk into a wide, heavy wok or pan with the bumbu, lemongrass, lime leaves, salam, turmeric leaf, asam kandis and whole spices. Bring to a simmer, stirring constantly in one direction.
3. Simmer uncovered on medium-low for 30 minutes, stirring often, until the milk has thickened and turned pale yellow. Constant stirring stops it splitting too early.
4. Add the beef, salt and palm sugar and simmer gently, uncovered, for about 2 hours. The pot must never boil hard; the meat is tenderising while the liquid reduces.
5. As the liquid drops, stir more frequently. Around the 2 hour 30 minute mark the coconut oil breaks out and the sauce turns from cream to caramel brown. This stage is gulai.
6. Keep going. Stir almost continuously for the final 45–60 minutes as the sauce darkens through to mahogany and the residue (dedak) coats the meat like a dry crumb.
7. Rendang is finished when there is no liquid left, only glistening oil and dark spice paste clinging to the meat, and the pieces are dry at the edges but yielding inside.
8. Rest off the heat for 20 minutes. Serve at room temperature with steamed rice, and know that it improves for two or three days.
9. Store the residual oil with the meat; it protects it, which is why rendang was originally a travelling food that kept for weeks without refrigeration.

Technique

• Rendang is defined by the reduction, not the ingredients. Stop at the wet brown stage and you have kalio, a legitimate dish but not rendang.
• Use freshly pressed coconut milk if at all possible. Tinned milk with stabilisers resists splitting and it is the split, the oil breaking free, that fries the meat in the final hour.
• Do not cover the pan at any point and do not add water. The only liquid is coconut milk, and every drop must go.
• The Minangkabau of West Sumatra regard rendang as a ceremonial dish of the adat; a truly dry rendang keeps at room temperature for weeks.

Substitutions

• No fresh coconut: use 4 tins of full-fat coconut milk with no gum stabilisers, or coconut cream let down with water.
• Asam kandis can be replaced by tamarind pulp or a slice of dried mangosteen rind.
• Turmeric leaf and salam leaf are hard to find fresh; use 2 bay leaves and accept a slightly plainer perfume.

Variations

• Rendang ayam uses chicken and takes only 90 minutes.
• Rendang telur is a crisp version made with eggs and popular as a snack.
• Malaysian rendang, particularly the Negeri Sembilan style, is wetter and includes toasted grated coconut (kerisik).

History

Minangkabau dish of West Sumatra cooked until dry so it keeps for weeks, served at ceremonies and carried by merantau migrants leaving home.

Frequently asked questions

What is Rendang?

Rendang is a main from Brunei: slow-cooked coconut beef, festive table essential. Minangkabau dish of West Sumatra cooked until dry so it keeps for weeks, served at ceremonies and carried by merantau migrants leaving home.

How long does Rendang take to make?

Rendang takes 40 min of preparation and 4 hr of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Rendang?

Yes, within limits. No fresh coconut: use 4 tins of full-fat coconut milk with no gum stabilisers, or coconut cream let down with water. Asam kandis can be replaced by tamarind pulp or a slice of dried mangosteen rind. Turmeric leaf and salam leaf are hard to find fresh; use 2 bay leaves and accept a slightly plainer perfume.

What is the most important thing to get right in Rendang?

Add the beef, salt and palm sugar and simmer gently, uncovered, for about 2 hours. The pot must never boil hard; the meat is tenderising while the liquid reduces.