As Hari Raya Aidilfitri is due in the next couple of days depending on a sighting of the moon, my culinary thoughts turn to a rendang.

I previously wrote (see here) that rendang is:
 
"A spicy, aromatic dish originating from West Sumatra, Indonesia with different versions across SE Asia.
This dish features a wide range of spices, a lot of coconut (both grated and toasted, and the cream/milk), a very slow, long cook to caramelize and turn the dish from its starting bright color to a dark brown, resulting in a tasty dry dish of tender meat. In a 2011 online poll by CNN International of some 35,000 people, nominated beef rendang as the world's most delicious dish (out of a list of 50)( "World's 50 most delicious foods". CNNGo. Cable News Network. Last retrieved 24 Feb 2021). In 2018, rendang was recognized as one of five national dishes of Indonesia."

It was the Pantry Boy who introduced the idea of a "no-stir" rendang to my thinking. This is an attractive thought because as some may know, cooking rendang is a very involved process. Pantry Boy himself learnt of the method from Chef Shen Tan who also gave a recipe for the dish.

Tan's recipe as described by Pantry Boy was rather timid in spicing and so I modified the ingredients content while retaining her method:

• Prepare a base of aromatics

• Adjust the ingredients above to suit your taste especially in the quantity of chill. The amount specified above gives a rather spicy result.
  Some recipes call for the addition of tamarind to tart up the dish. I omitted this item in the latest cook up.
   

• Cube the beef into large chunks and place in a lidded baking container.
  Metal Dutch ovens (preferred)  or ceramic casserole dishes (my choice) may be used.
   

• Douse the beef with the aromatics paste.
   

• Add one large stalk of lemongrass, and 2 lime leaves (preferably kaffir lime).
  Some may also wish to add a couple of Bay leaves.
   

• Add 100 mL of coconut cream (I use Kara brand).
   

• Lid the container and place in an oven at 180 degrees centigrade.
  Baking the preparation makes the dish a casserole (it means a dish which is baked in an oven).
   

• Bake for two hours. No stirring required!
   

• After two hours, retrieve from oven and mix the contents.
  Return to the oven and bake for another 1.5 hours.
   

• Towards the last hour take out again to observe how much liquid remains in the dish.
  If the dish is still very fluid, return it to the oven without the lid on to allow evaporation to dry out the dish in the last hour of baking. Watch your product to prevent it burning!
  
  With this lid control you can make your rendang as dry or as wet as you prefer.
   

• After 3.5 hours or so of baking, your rendang should look like this:

Clem's No-Stir Beef Rendang after 2.5 h baking

Verdict? Tasty; aromatic; fork tender!