Beef Rendang Recipes

BEEF RENDANG

Steps:

• Place Spice Paste ingredients in a small food processor and whizz until fine. NOTE: If using dried chilli and you know your food processor is not that powerful, chop the chilli first.
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Add half the beef and brown, then remove onto plate. Repeat with remaining beef.
• Lower heat to medium low. Add Spice Paste and cook for 2 - 3 minutes until the wetness has reduced and the spice paste darkens (don't breathe in too much, the chilli will make you cough!).
• Add remaining Curry ingredients and beef. Stir to combine.
• Bring to simmer, then immediately turn down the heat to low or medium low so the sauce is bubbling very gently.
• Put the lid on the pot and leave it to simmer for 1 hr 15 minutes.
• Remove lid and check the beef to see how tender it is. You don't want it to be "fall apart at a touch" at this stage, but it should be quite tender. If it is fall apart already, remove the beef from the pot before proceeding.
• Turn up heat to medium and reduce sauce for 30 - 40 minutes, stirring every now and then at first, then frequently towards the end until the beef browns and the sauce reduces to a paste that coats the beef. (Note 9)
• The beef should now be very tender, fall apart at a touch. If not, add a splash of water and keep cooking. Remove from heat and serve with plain or Restaurant Style Coconut Rice.

INDONESIAN RENDANG

Steps:

• Put all ingredients for the paste in a blender or food processor.
• Add 50 ml coconut milk to help the blending process and blend until smooth.
• Put the beef and spice paste into a Wok or a large saucepan (minimum capacity 4 liters).
• Pour in the coconut milk, add the lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric leaves. Stir to mix.
• Cook over medium-high heat until the coconut milk get boiled.
• Adjust the heat into medium and simmer for 1.5 hours uncovered until the coconut milk becomes thicker and oily. Stirring occasionally.
• Add the tamarind water and salt to taste. (Note: If you like to eat it with sauce you can stop the cooking now. This dish is called: Kalio /Wet Rendang)
• If you like to eat it as rendang then continue cooking on low heat for about 30 minutes.
• Cook until the coconut milk is driven off and the beef and sauce becomes brown and almost dry. (At this stage you will probably need to stir all the time to prevent burning)
• Serve hot with rice and "Minangkabau Green Sambal".
• Many Indonesians prefer a black colour rendang. To get this kind of rendang you need to add roasted grated coconut which's smoothly blended.
• I personally prefer to stop the cooking earlier to reserve it's thick delicates sauce as you see in the pic :-)

RENDANG (SPICY BEEF INDONESIAN CURRY)

Steps:

• Put the coconut milk and water in a wok or large pan over medium to high flame and bring to a boil. Add the garlic, shallot, galangal, turmeric, chile, nutmeg, cardamom, coriander, cumin, ginger, bay leaves, cinnamon stick and lemongrass and bring to a boil again. Add the beef. After about 5 minutes, turn the flame down to a simmer. Add the sugar and salt. Cook, stirring every 5 minutes, until the coconut milk turns oily, separates and rises to the top (this is the sign that it's done), about 2 hours.

BEEF RENDANG (THE BEST!)

Steps:

• 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.

CHEF JOHN'S BEEF RENDANG

Steps:

• Cut beef chuck into 2-inch pieces.
• Combine shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, serrano and Fresno chiles, salt, red pepper flakes, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, and nutmeg in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until paste is very finely ground, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides with a spatula.
• Heat oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the curry paste. Cook and stir until it starts to dry out, then stir in the beef. Add coconut milk, tamarind paste, and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Fill up the empty can of coconut milk with water and pour it into the pan. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to a simmer.
• In the meantime, bruise lemongrass with the back of your knife. Cut into 1- to 2-inch pieces and add to the curry. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until beef is fork-tender and sauce is fully reduced, about 4 hours. Stir more frequently as water reduces; add more water or lower the heat if sauce is reducing faster than beef is softening.
• Remove lemongrass to serve. For best results, let cool and serve the next day.

MALAYSIAN BEEF RENDANG

Steps:

• Heat the coconut in a dry wok, stirring continuously until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
• Using a blender or a food processor, blend the shallots, garlic, chilies, ginger, and lemon grass to a thick paste.
• Grind the coriander, fennel, cumin and nutmeg.
• Using the wok, fry the shallot paste in a little oil for a few minutes. Add the ground coriander, fennel, cumin and nutmeg; cook for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring continuously. Add beef; cook over a medium heat for a further 3 to 4 minutes, or until meat is browned.
• Stir in sugar, coconut, cloves, cinnamon stick, coconut milk , and water. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer until most of the liquid has gone and the meat is tender (about 1 hour). Season with salt to taste.

RENDANG GAGING (BEEF STEW)

Steps:

• Place shallots, lemongrass, garlic, ginger, galangal, and chile peppers in a food processor; process spices into a coarse paste.
• Heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add spice paste; cook and stir until sizzling and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add beef; stir to coat with spices, about 3 minutes. Pour in coconut milk. Cover and simmer stew until beef is tender, about 30 minutes.
• Stir vinegar, sugar, and salt into the pot. Continue to cook, covered, until sauce reduces and thickens, about 30 minutes more.

RENDANG DAGING (BEEF RENDANG)

Steps:

• Prepare the spice paste: In a small food processor, combine the spice paste ingredients and blend until they form a smooth paste. If the texture is too coarse, you can add a splash of the measured coconut milk and blend again. Set aside.
• Prepare the beef: Trim the meat of any excess fat, then cut the meat into 1 1/2-inch chunks, discarding any additional excess fat, and transfer the cubed meat to a deep, heavy Dutch oven or pot.
• Stir in the prepared spice paste along with the coconut milk, lemongrass, makrut lime leaves (if using), bay leaves and salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high, then reduce to a gentle simmer and continue to cook for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the meat is tender, stirring every 20 minutes or so to ensure the rendang doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.
• After 2 to 2 1/2 hours, the oil from the coconut milk will split and rise to the surface, appearing as a reddish-orange oil; Indonesians call this stage "kalio." (Depending on the oil content of your coconut milk, this may be a subtle film of oil or there can be a pool of it.) Discard the lemongrass stalks. (If they cook any further, they may disintegrate and be impossible to remove.)
• Turn the heat up to medium-high to reduce the sauce. Stir the rendang continuously until the sauce has thickened and turned a deep brown, about 15 minutes. As more oil separates, you are nearly there. Continue stirring the beef so it absorbs the sauce and caramelizes on the outside. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed before serving.