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5 Secrets to 20 Minute Dinners!
Tips, tricks, and recipes for dinner in a hurry!
What Is Rendang?
Rendang is a rich and tender coconut beef stew which is explosively flavorful. It’s a celebrated Indonesian recipe. Called “rendang daging” in local Indonesian and Malaysia language, it’s arguably the most famous beef recipe in Indonesia, Malaysia and to a lesser extent, Singapore.
Other that that, it’s also the #1 dish on “World’s 50 Best Foods” compiled by CNN. As the world discovers it, there has been much controversies and ignorance on the recipe and cooking methods, as more chefs learn to cook this dish.
In 2018, a Masterchef UK judge criticized that rendang is not crispy. His comment drew massive uproars on the social media and online.
Ultimately, the protein used in the recipe is never deep-fried, but simmered and then stewed for hours with spices and coconut milk. The end result is a rich, tender and deeply flavorful meat stew.
Origins of Rendang
Beef rendang is of Indonesian origin, a delicious concoction from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia.
It’s often served at ceremonial occasions and to honor guests.
I believe the dish came to Malaysia when the Minangkabau settlers from Sumatra migrated to the southern part of the Malay peninsula during the era of the Melaka Sultanate.
This dish is well loved by many Malaysians, especially the Malay community.
Ingredients
The core of beef rendang is the spice paste, as well as the various aromatic spices (cinnamon, cardamom pods, cloves and star anise) used in the recipe.
The spice paste consists of the following main ingredients:
- Shallots
- Galangal – if you cannot find galangal, skip it altogether
- Lemongrass
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Dried red chilies
Recipe Variations
While beef rendang is the poster child, there are variations such as chicken rendang and lamb rendang. Chicken rendang is often used as a filling in baked buns, and they are a favorite for the locals.
For vegans and vegetarians , you can certainly use fried tofu or tempeh. For seafood lovers, rendang prawn (shrimp) is a good option.
Regardless of which protein you use, rendang is absolutely delicious and best with steamed rice, for example: nasi lemak.
What Kind of Beef for Rendang?
I used boneless beef short ribs or stew beef. The cut of beef will ensure that you have soft and tender beef once it’s cooked.
You have to cut the beef into small pieces to ensure that after the slow cooking, each chunk of beef is tender with the aromatic rendang curry paste.
Secret Ingredient of Rendang Paste
To make the best rendang, you need to have the secret ingredient: kerisik or toasted coconut. Many traditional Indonesian and Malaysian recipes call for kerisik. The golden-toasted shredded coconut adds immense aromas, earth nuance and vibrant textures to the finished dish.
Another tip is to slow cook the meat on low heat; slowly stew and simmer the beef and reduce the liquid during the cooking process.
The Best and Most Authentic Rendang
The best and most authentic meat rendang should be somewhat dry (as pictured here). The meat should be generously coated with the rendang paste. Please take note that this is not a curry, the dish should never be watery.
I suggest that you make a big serving (you may double or triple my recipe) so you have some leftovers. The flavors and aroma become more intense the next day. The Minangkabau save the dish for months as the complex taste and flavor develop over time.
Do try my recipe because it’s the most delicious and best beef rendang recipe you will find online!
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 416 calories per serving.
What to Serve with This Recipe?
Serve this dish with rice, noodles or bread. For a traditional Malaysian meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Beef Rendang (The Best!)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless beef short ribs, cut into cubes
- 5 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 stick cinnamon (about 2-inch length)
- 3 cloves
- 3 star anise
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 lemongrass (cut into 4-inch length and pounded)
- 1 cup thick coconut milk (coconut cream)
- 1 cup water
- 2 teaspoons tamarind pulp (soaked in some warm water for the juice and discard the seeds)
- 6 kaffir lime leaves (very finely sliced)
- 6 tablespoons kerisik (toasted coconut)
- 1 tablespoon sugar or palm sugar to taste
- salt to taste
Spice Paste:
- 5 shallots
- 1 inch galangal
- 3 lemongrass (white part only)
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- 10-12 dried chilies (soaked in warm water and seeded)
Instructions
- Chop the spice paste ingredients and then blend it in a food processor until fine.
- Heat the oil in a stew pot, add the spice paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom and stir-fry until aromatic. Add the beef and the pounded lemongrass and stir for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, tamarind juice, water, and simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently until the meat is almost cooked.
- Add the kaffir lime leaves, kerisik (toasted coconut), sugar or palm sugar, stirring to blend well with the meat.
- Lower the heat to low, cover the lid, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is really tender and the gravy has dried up. Add more salt and sugar to taste. Serve immediately with steamed rice and save some for overnight.
Notes
Nutrition
I can only buy short ribs with the bone in in the UK and need to scale the recipe to serve 16-18 people. Do you think I’d be able to use bone-in ribs instead in this recipe? Or would it affect the cooking time/amount of liquid needed to cover them etc.? I guess the alternative is to just cut away the bones myself, shouldn’t be too hard, right? The recipe looks great, I just need to make sure it works first time! Any advice would be very much appreciated.
Hi Sarah, I just made this using beef brisket and was yummy – may be a little longer on the cooking time or cut the beef smaller than I did
Hi,
I want to make a bigger batch of beef rendang, say 2 kgs of meat, should I increase the amount of the other ingredients also in proportion to the meat? I know this question sounds stupid, but i’ve never worked with some of these ingredients before, and im afraid i may end up overpowering the dish with too much flavor. Thanks!
Yes you can increase.
THIS FOOD DOMINATED THE FILIPINO KITCHEN. NO DOUBT, THE BEST FOOD IN THE WORLD. ENAK SEKALI!
This is my favorite food, thanks for the recipe, very useful ..
Thanks for the rendang recipe. it is delicious v close to the prima deli beef rendang paste.
This Rendang recipe is one of the best I’ve made. Truly authentic in its flavour and true to the Rendangs I enjoyed in Malaysia. It’s even better reheated the next day.
Yes, always better after reheating. :)
Beef Rendang has been one of my favorite dishes for 50+ years. I lived in Kluang (about 50 miles north of Johore Bahru in the 1950s) and have been a frequent traveler to Singapore and Malaysia ever since. Now living in Dallas, TX. We have a kaffir lime tree in the garden (in a pot, so he comes in in the winter). He (yes he – no flowers, no fruit) has grown to nearly 8 feet tall and about 3 feet across. A great source of leaves for various dishes. But I digress.
I made this recipe for a dinner event yesterday evening. It tasted fantastic. But it seemed a little wetter than I would have liked. Not sure why, but it was definitely a bit more “meat in a very thick gravy” like than the drier, almost paste like texture that I was expecting.
I did make my own coconut milk (I have a coconut grinder that I bought in Singapore). and maybe made it a bit thin. So perhaps added too much water when following the recipe. Also used coconut sugar (the Korean supermarket that I went to didn’t have palm sugar that I could easily find). The coconut sugar was nice in the dish.
Based on the method described, I am not sure what would cause it to dry out – since the majority of the cooking time was in a covered pot. I would be really interested in your comments/thoughts.
I love the blog. You are doing terrific things. Thank you. Nyonya/Peranakan food is my favorite.
Chris
Your recipes exclude many of us in the United States because we do not have access to some of your ingredients.
Hi George, you can get the ingredients are Asian stores…if there are some where you are.
I ruined it by using concentrated Tamarind paste, I put a heaping spoon full(about 2 TBL) in and it was way overpowering. Otherwise turned out great can’t wait to make it again with much more restraint on the Tamarind paste, I’m thinking 1/2 – 1 tea spoon.
Hi James, yes, the paste is super concentrated. Good luck in the beef rendang recipe again!
I lived in Malaysia for 6 years and always ordered this when out to eat. This version tastes completely authentic. I have made this many times for friends and needless to say they are always impressed. Funny to think I lived there all those years and never made it living there. Thanks Rasa Malaysia for bringing me all the way back to Malaysia without having to spend the airfare!!!
Jeff
Thanks Jeff for trying my beef rendang recipe. :)