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Beef rendang is a spicy, rich, and creamy Indonesian/Malaysian beef stew made with beef, spices, and coconut milk. This is the best and most authentic beef rendang recipe you will find online!
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Authentic Beef Rendang Recipe
Rendang is one of my all-time favorite dishes. This rich and tender coconut beef stew is famous for its intense, complex flavors. Known as rendang daging in Indonesia and Malaysia, it’s arguably the most iconic beef recipe in both countries, and even in Singapore to some extent.
Fun fact: it’s also ranked as the #1 dish on CNN’s World’s 50 Best Foods list! Over the years, as more chefs attempt to recreate beef rendang, the dish has sparked its fair share of debates over the “right” recipe and cooking techniques.
One of the most famous controversies happened in 2018, when a MasterChef UK judge criticized a Malaysian-born contestant’s rendang for not being crispy. The comment caused a massive uproar on social media, with many Asians pointing out that rendang isn’t meant to be crispy. It’s a rich, tender stew, not a fried dish!
Traditionally, the protein in rendang is never deep-fried. Instead, it’s simmered and stewed for hours with aromatic spices and coconut milk until the meat becomes meltingly tender and deeply flavorful.
If you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend making this Malaysian beef rendang. Don’t forget to check out my step-by-step video to guide you through every step of the process—it’s easier than you think! You’ll love having bowls of spicy, creamy, and tender beef stew to savor for days. This is the most authentic beef rendang recipe online, with over 700 glowing reviews and an average rating of 4.6!
“I never send in reviews for anything. But I felt moved to do it for the first time ever. This recipe is so delicious. I’ve spent a lot of time in Malaysia and this definitely brings back happy memories.”
– Arun
Origins Of Rendang
Beef rendang originates from Indonesia and is a beloved dish of the Minangkabau ethnic group. This rich and flavorful stew is more than just a meal—it’s a cultural treasure, often served at ceremonial occasions to honor guests and mark special celebrations.
I believe rendang made its way to Malaysia when the Minangkabau settlers from Sumatra migrated to the southern Malay Peninsula during the Melaka Sultanate era. Malaysians, especially the Malay community, adore rendang just as much, and it’s now a staple in their cuisine.
Beef Rendang Ingredients
Main Ingredients
The core of beef rendang is the spice paste, as well as the various aromatic spices: cinnamon, cardamom pods, cloves, and star anise). Here are some of the main ingredients, including what you will need for the spice paste:
- Boneless beef short ribs – this is the best cut of beef for this recipe. Make sure to cut the beef into cubes. Make sure you don’t cut it too small as the meat might break apart after cooking.
- Coconut milk – if you like a creamier and richer taste, opt for coconut cream, which is thicker in consistency compared to coconut milk.
- Kaffir lime leaves – impart the iconic flora aroma and perfume the dish with citrusy fragrance. I recommend buying fresh leaves to get more of that citrusy flavor. They freeze really well, so you can buy a bunch and keep them in the freezer to use in Tom Yum Soup, Sambal Udang, and Beef Penang Curry.
- Spices – I use fresh cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom, but you can also use the powdered version.
- Tamarind juice – the tart tamarind balances out the richness of the coconut milk. I use tamarind pulp soaked in warm water, but you can also use tamarind puree.
- Kerisik – toasted grated coconut gives the dish a nutty and earthy flavor.
Rendang Spice Paste Ingredients
- Dried chilies – add as much or as little as you like depending on preference. You can use half the amount in this recipe for a milder stew.
- Galangal – if you cannot find galangal, skip it altogether. It tastes like ginger but it is more sour and peppery.
- Lemongrass – use only the white part, slice thinly. Smash them a little bit using the back of your knife to infuse more flavor into the dish.
- Shallots
- Garlic
- Ginger
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
Secret Ingredient Of Rendang Paste
To make the best beef rendang, you need to have the secret ingredient kerisik or toasted coconut. Many traditional Indonesian and Malaysian recipes call for kerisik. This golden-toasted shredded coconut adds immense aromas, earthy nuance, and vibrant textures to the finished dish.
Expert Tip #1: My late grandmother taught me the technique of pounding the kerisik using a traditional stone mortar and pestle. This process breaks down the fiber in the toasted shredded coconut and releases the fat contents in the toasted coconut. When adding pounded kerisik to the list of ingredients, you will have the richest, creamiest, and “lemak” (meaning “fat” in Indonesian-Malaysian language) rendang ever!
Expert Tip #2: Another technique is to slow-cook the meat on low heat, preferably over a charcoal fire, in a clay pot, and cover it with its lid. In the modern-day kitchen, you can just use a pan or pot to slowly stew and simmer the beef and reduce the liquid during the cooking process. You’ll get the most tender and melt-in-your-mouth soft meat ever!
Recipe Variations
While beef rendang is the poster child, there are other variations such as chicken rendang and lamb rendang that are equally delicious. Chicken rendang is often used as a filling in baked buns, and it is an all-time favorite of 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, slow-cooked beef rendang is absolutely delicious and best with steamed rice like nasi lemak.
How To Make Beef Rendang
Beef rendang, or any beef stew, is a labor of love, as it requires patience and time to achieve the perfect balance of flavors. Here’s how to make rendang the traditional way:
First, chop up the spice paste ingredients, then blend them in a food processor until they’re nice and fine.
Heat some oil in a stew pot, then toss in your spice paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom. Stir-fry them until everything is really fragrant. Add the beef and the pounded lemongrass, then stir it all together for about a minute.
Next, pour in the coconut milk, tamarind juice, and water. Let it simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently, until the meat is almost cooked. Now, throw in the kaffir lime leaves, kerisik (toasted coconut), sugar, or palm sugar. Stir it all together until it’s well blended with the meat.
Pro tip: To make the kerisik, just toss some grated coconut into a dry wok and stir it continuously until it turns golden brown. It’s super easy, but you’ve got to keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn!
Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot with a lid, and let it simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is super tender and the gravy has thickened up nicely. Taste and adjust with more salt or sugar if needed.
Serve it hot with steamed rice, and save any leftovers for later—this dish gets even better the next day!
Make The Best and Most Authentic Rendang
The best and most authentic meat rendang should be somewhat dry (as pictured here). Please take note that this is not a curry, and the dish should never be watery like this Panang Curry. The meat should be generously coated with the rendang paste.
I suggest you make a big serving (you may double or triple this recipe), so you have some leftovers. The flavors and aroma become more intense the next day that some prefer to wait and eat it on the second day. In fact, the Minangkabau saves the dish for months as the complex taste and flavor develop over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
I use boneless beef short ribs or stew beef. These cuts have a good meat-to-fat ratio that makes rendang so tender and flavorful. Cut the beef into smaller chunks to ensure that each chunk is tender and nicely coated with the aromatic rendang curry paste.
Rendang is a dry meat stew with a thick, flavorful gravy that is cooked until the meat is tender and infused with flavors and almost all of the liquid has evaporated.
No, rendang and curry are two different dishes. Rendang is a type of dry, slow-cooked meat dish while curry like this beef curry with pumpkin is a wet or semi-wet stew. The spices and ingredients used in the dishes are also different with rendang having unique flavors from coconut milk, kerisik (toasted coconut), kaffir lime leaves, and galangal.
This beef rendang recipe has 795 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Rendang
Serve this Malaysian beef rendang with rice, noodles, or bread. For an easy and traditional Malaysian weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes:
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
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 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 storage.
Video
Notes
- I recommend buying fresh kaffir lime leaves to get more of that citrusy flavor. They freeze really well, so you can buy a bunch and keep them in the freezer for later.
- To prepare the kerisik or toasted coconut, just add the grated coconut to a dry wok and stir continuously until it turns golden brown.
- Pound the kerisik using a traditional stone mortar and pestle to break down the fiber in the coconut and release its fat content in the dish.
- Slow-cook the meat on low heat, preferably over a charcoal fire, in a clay pot, and cover it with its lid.
- I suggest you make a big serving (you may double or triple this recipe), so you have some leftovers.
- Watch the cooking video for a step-by-step guide.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use galangal paste as I am finding hard to get fresh
Thanks
Hi Tony. That is understandable. Yes, in a pinch, you can use galangal paste. But I do hope you will be able to find fresh galangal in the future as it really is the core of the flavour profile of rendang and many other Malaysian and Indonesian dishes. Happy cooking!
I want to make this for 8 persons. Do i also have to double the cinnamon sticks or will 1 be sufficient?
Can i also use tamarind paste instead of tamarinde pulp? If so, can i use the same amount paste as for the pulp?
Looking forward to taste this recipe
Hi Joost, please follow the amount in a doubled-up recipe. 2 sticks of cinnamon does matter in the flavour.
And yes, you can use the same amount of tamarind paste.
Hi my wife don’t like spicy food is there anything else I could use
Instead of chillies or maybe put less in
Hi Tony, unfortunately there’s no substitute for chilies in this dish. Rendang is a very traditional dish from Malaysia and Indonesia and is meant to be spicy. You could try to reduce the chilies, but it would alter the taste significantly.
Hi , can I use fresh red chili instead? Thanks
Hi Angie. You could use just fresh red chili, but it will change the end taste of the spice paste a little, as the dried chilies provide a deeper flavour.
hi,
i think you missed out an essential ingredient in yr beef rendang recipe; fresh tumeric root, amongst the ground spices. As a matter of fact, i would also consider the garnish of finely sliced turmeric leaves as more than an option.
Hi, planning on making this tomorrow to reheat and eat the next day as I won’t have time to make on the same day – what’s the best way of reheating if the completed dish is quite dry? Looking forward to seeing the end result :)
Hi Phil, beef rendang is supposed to be on the drier side, and will always taste better then next day. In Malaysia, we usually cook beef rendang a day ahead to allow the flavours to meld overnight.
You can warm it up over the stove on low heat with a little bit of added water. If you choose to heat up in the microwave, add a little bit of water and cover with cling film to prevent any spatter.
You might want to change the part that says “serve immediately” to reflect this.
Oh my goodness, this is utterly delicious. I used a mixture of short rib and beef cheek and cooked in a slow cooker on the gentlest of simmers for 5 hours. Rendang heaven!
Hi Ade, your version sounds really delicious.
What kind of dried chilis do you use? Are they chiles de arbol?
Hi Luke. You can use chiles de arbol, but note that they can be pretty spicy. In Malaysia and Indonesia, we usually use a mix of spicy and less spicy dried chillies. You can use dried Kashmiri chilli peppers too.
I found Red “Holland Chiles” are ideal, as they have a bright spike, but not the lingering burn….works very well. Available at local Asian Markets, careful, not the Red Thai Chili, unless you like fire..! ~Enjoy~
I’m cooking this up tomorrow. It will be only my 2nd time cooking a Rendang. I look forward to trying yours. Question, how big are the shallots? or what is a rough total weight?
Hi Wayne, for rendang or curries in general, it’s best to use Asian shallots, which are on the smaller side compared to European shallots, but pack a stronger flavour. Asian shallots tend to be around 1-inch in length.
Cooked this last night – absolutely delicious, probably the best I tasted. My cooking time was SIGNIFICANTLY longer than 1.5 hours before it was finally reduced and brown (approx 3.5h for me) but of course, that could have been my measurements or lower heat. After a couple of hours of not much happening I half uncovered it and that made all the difference…
I am so glad you enjoyed it. Yes, the lower temperature can cause the cooking to take longer.