Rendang
A dish of the Minangkabau of Sumatra which is not an ordinary curry but a technique of slowly reducing coconut milk until the meat fries in its fat. Over four hours the coconut milk evaporates until only its oil remains, and at that point the beef stops stewing and starts frying in its own sauce. The result: meat as dark as mahogany, coated in paste, with practically no liquid — which is exactly why traditionally made rendang could last a long time without refrigeration.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Spice paste 20 min
- Simmering 150 min
- Reducing 60 min
- Frying in the oil 30 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneBlend the spice paste smooth
Cover the dried chillies with boiling water for 20 minutes, then drain. Blend them with the shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, turmeric, the white parts of the lemongrass and the coriander into a smooth, thick paste (if the blender struggles, add 2–3 tablespoons of the coconut milk). Fragments will not dissolve over four hours and end up as fibres in the finished dish.
Ingredients: 12 pcs dried chillies · 8 pcs shallots · 6 cloves garlic · 40 g ginger · 40 g galangal · 1 tsp turmeric · 3 pcs lemongrass · 1 tbsp coriander seeds
A smooth paste — fragments never dissolve.Bring the coconut milk to a boil with the paste
In a wide pot bring the coconut milk to a boil with the paste, lime leaves, cinnamon, star anise, tamarind, sugar and salt. A wide pot, not a tall one — the whole technique is evaporation and you need surface area.
Ingredients: 1200 g beef · 1200 ml coconut milk · 6 pcs kaffir lime leaves · 1 pcs cinnamon · 2 pcs star anise · 1 tbsp tamarind · 1 tbsp palm sugar · 2 tsp salt
Simmer two and a half hours uncovered
Add the beef and cook 150 minutes uncovered over low heat, stirring every 20 minutes. The liquid gradually thickens and darkens. A lid would trap the steam and the dish would remain a curry instead of becoming rendang.
Ingredients: 1200 g beef · 1200 ml coconut milk · 6 pcs kaffir lime leaves · 1 pcs cinnamon · 2 pcs star anise · 1 tbsp tamarind · 1 tbsp palm sugar · 2 tsp salt
Uncovered — the steam has to escape.Toast the desiccated coconut dark
Toast the coconut in a dry pan for 6 minutes, until brown and fragrant, then grind it in a mortar to an oily paste. This is kerisik, the traditional rendang thickener — it adds depth and a nutty note.
Ingredients: 60 g desiccated coconut · 400 g rice
Reduce to a thick, dark mass
Stir in the kerisik and cook another 60 minutes, stirring more and more often, until the sauce thickens and clings to the meat. The colour moves from light brown to mahogany — the sign that the coconut sugars are caramelising.
Ingredients: 1200 g beef · 1200 ml coconut milk · 6 pcs kaffir lime leaves · 1 pcs cinnamon · 2 pcs star anise · 1 tbsp tamarind · 1 tbsp palm sugar · 2 tsp salt
Fry in the rendered coconut oil
Once clear oil separates out of the sauce, lower the heat and stir constantly for 30 minutes, scraping the bottom so the paste doesn't burn. This is no longer stewing but frying the meat in its own fat — and this is where the flavour rendang exists for is made. Meanwhile cook the rice.
Ingredients: 1200 g beef · 1200 ml coconut milk · 6 pcs kaffir lime leaves · 1 pcs cinnamon · 2 pcs star anise · 1 tbsp tamarind · 1 tbsp palm sugar · 2 tsp salt
The oil has separated — from here you stir without stopping.Stop when the meat is dry and glossy
Rendang is done when there is no liquid in the pot and the meat is coated in dark paste and shines. Taste and adjust the salt. Serve with steamed rice — there will be no sauce, and there should not be.
Ingredients: 60 g desiccated coconut · 400 g rice
Before you start
Rendang versus kalio
Stopping at the thick brown sauce stage gives kalio — an earlier, saucier stage of the same dish, also part of Minangkabau cooking. It is milder and has plenty of sauce; traditional rendang is dry.
Galangal is not ginger
Galangal has a sharp, piney-citrus flavour quite unlike ginger, and here it is clearly detectable. Asian grocers sell it fresh or frozen. Without it rendang comes out respectable but recognisably incomplete.
Making ahead
Traditionally rendang was taken on journeys, because the little water left in it slows spoilage. At home, though, keep it in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze it for 3 months. It is often even better the next day, as the spices keep moving into the meat.
