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.

Materials and Method

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg beef (chuck tender; gravy beef); large cubes

• 1000 mL heavy coconut milk (look for a brand with cream) or add 500 mL milk and 500 mL cream

• 20 g kaffir lime leaves; sliced

• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds

• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds

• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds

• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns

• 2 star anise

• 10 large dried chillis (softened in hot water first)

• 5 stalks of lemongrass (white base only)

• 8 shallots (Bombay onions); sliced

• 2 bulbs red onions; sliced

• 1 bulb garlic; crushed

• 50 g ginger; sliced

• 50 g galangal; sliced

• 20 g turmeric; sliced

• 1 cinnamon quill

• 10 pods green cardamom

• 10 cloves

• 4 tablespoon toasted coconut paste (kerisik)

• Water extract from 1 -2 tablespoons of tamarind paste

• 150 g palm sugar

• 2 teaspoons salt

Dry roast the coriander, fennel, cumin, star anise and black pepper until aromatic. Coarsely grind the spices after roasting. Pound or blend the lemongrass, ginger, galangal, turmeric, shallots, garlic, onion, and chilli into a rough paste. Mix the paste with the dry roasted spices.

Fry spice/aromatics paste in a generous amount of cooking oil until fragrant. Add half the coconut milk/cream and tamarind juice. Continue heating until the oil from the coconut cream starts to separate out. Then add the cinnamon quill, cardamom and cloves and stir for a short while more before adding the beef (as a variation, for more flavor and a method favoured in European cooking, you may choose to brown the beef in oil before this step).

Add the sugar and kaffir lime leaves followed by the rest of the coconut milk. Bring everything to a boil and then reduce the heat. Then with the saucepan covered, and with low heat, braise the beef in the spices and aromatics  until it is tender to your liking. Ensure that the batch is regularly stirred to avoid sticking and burning.

As the batch cooks, it will lose water, become drier, darker in color, and oil will separate out (become visible). Cook the beef until you can break it  apart with a fork - do not overcook until mushy (especially when over stirred). A rendang is slowly cooked over several hours.

When the rendang gravy has thickened, stir in the toasted coconut paste.

The desired end-result is a dark colored, dry rendang  with meat you can break apart with your fork on the plate.

Garnish with finely sliced kaffir lime leaves and fresh chillis.