Authentic Beef Rendang Recipe

Beef Rendang
SERVINGS: 4 PEOPLE
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES
COOK TIME: 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES

Authentic Beef Rendang Recipe Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp coconut oil
• 2.4 liters coconut milk
• 3 stalks lemongrass, bruised
• 1 turmeric leaf, torn and knotted
•  (if turmeric leaf is unavailable, replace
•  with 30 g of freshly peeled turmeric
•  which you add to the spice paste)
• 4 kaffir lime leaves, bruised
• 7 cm cinnamon
• 1.2 kg beef shoulder or neck, cut into
•  2.5-cm cubes brined for 5 hours
• salt, to taste

SPICE PASTE

• 80 g shallots, peeled and sliced
• 50 g garlic, peeled and sliced
• 120 g large red chilies, halved, seeded
•  and sliced
• 5-7 bird’s eye chilies, sliced
• 50 g galangal (laos), peeled and sliced
• 50 g ginger, peeled and sliced
• 50 g candlenuts, roasted and crushed

DRY SPICES

• 1 Tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cardamom seeds
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg, crushed
• 8 cloves
• 1/2 tsp white pepper

How To Cook Beef Rendang

1. To make the spice paste, combine all ingredients in a stone mortar or food processor and grind into a fine paste. Heat coconut oil in a heavy saucepan, add the spice paste and sauté over medium heat until fragrant.
2. To prepare the dry spices to combine all ingredients in a stone mortar or food processor and grind into a very fine paste.
3. Combine with the above spice blend.
4. Add coconut milk and blend well. 
5. Add lemongrass, turmeric leaf, kaffir lime leaves, and cinnamon. Bring it to a simmer.
6. Simmer spice blend over medium heat until the coconut milk becomes very oily and the paste changes to a dark brown color. 
7. This can take up to 1 hour, and the paste should have a creamy, oily consistency.
8. Add beef cubes and bring to a boil. 
9. Reduce heat and simmer until meat is tender, stirring frequently until the liquid has almost evaporated and appearance is dry but oily. 
10. When cooked there should be almost no liquid left. 
11. Season to taste with salt.

NOTE
To learn how to prepare this imperial Indonesian beef dish, I flew across Indonesia to Padang where Pak Dian, a talented and very passionate young chef, taught me the secrets to making this tasty beef dish.

It took him two full days to go through the entire process. The meat came from freshly-slaughtered ultra-lean old cows, and when we purchased it, the meat was still warm with a very fresh bloody smell. Next, the spices were cooked for hours in coconut milk.

The milk was first heated, then the spices were added and cooked for hours. During the process the coconut milk gradually broke down and eventually, when all the moisture evaporated, the spices were fried for a seemingly endless time until they looked like a creamy, oily chocolate sauce.

After that, the meat was added and the cooking continued for hours and hours. The meat used was so tough that I feared that the simple aluminum wok in which it simmered would disintegrate as a result. However, at the end of the time-consuming cooking process, the dish tasted absolutely delicious.

CONCLUSION

1. If you wish to use the ingredients as listed in the note, I would encourage you to use your pressure cooker and follow the steps
2. If using a pressure cooker, you can replace the coconut milk with 200 ml coconut cream that is added only after the meat comes out of the pressure cooker.
3. First, sauté the ground spices in 3 Tbsp coconut oil. Next, add the beef cubes and continue to sauté until the meat changes color.
4. Fill the cooker with 400 ml beef stock, mix well and bring to a boil.
5. Pressure cook at 1 bar / 15 psi for 45 minutes. Start timing when full pressure is reached. Let the cooker cool for 20 minutes.
6. Lift the meat from the cooking liquid with a slotted spoon, and transfer to a frying pan. Strain the liquid into a pot. Bring to a simmer and skim off as much fat as possible.
7. Transfer 250 ml (1 cup) of the cooking liquid to the pan with the beef, and simmer over medium heat, gently turning and basting the meat for 12–15 minutes until it is glazed.
8. Combine coconut cream and the remaining liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce the sauce to a creamy consistency over low heat.
9. Combine sauce and meat and continue to simmer for 2 minutes.
10. Remove from heat and let the mixture infuse for 7–10 minutes.
11. Season to taste with crushed black pepper.