Rendang

Ingredients

• Beef shin — in large cubes1.2 kg
• Coconut milk1.2 l
• Shallots8
• Garlic6 clove
• Dried chillies10
• Galangal40 g
• Ginger30 g
• Fresh turmeric20 g
• Lemongrass3
• Kaffir lime leaves6
• Toasted coconut60 g
• Saltto taste

Salt and spices grow more slowly than the rest: doubling a dish does not double the pepper.

Weight converts to ounces and volume to cups. Grams of flour are not turned into cups, because that depends on how tightly it is packed.

Method

1. 1

   Soak the dried chillies in boiling water for fifteen minutes, then blend them with the shallot, garlic, galangal, ginger and turmeric to a smooth paste.

   20 min

2. 2

   Toast the coconut in a dry pan until deep brown and pound it to an oily paste — this is kerisik, and it brings the nutty depth.

   12 min

3. 3

   Fry the paste in a wide pot for five minutes, add the meat, coconut milk, bruised lemongrass and lime leaves, and bring it to the boil.

   10 min

4. 4

   Simmer uncovered for two and a half hours, stirring every twenty minutes. The sauce gradually thickens and darkens.

   150 min

5. 5

   Stir in the kerisik and carry on over medium heat for another hour, stirring more and more often. The milk splits, the oil separates and the meat begins to fry.

   60 min

6. 6

   It is done when the meat is dark brown and nearly dry and the oil runs clear. Season and let it rest.

   10 min

About the dish

Rendang is not a curry. A curry stops at the sauce stage; rendang goes past it: the coconut milk splits, the water boils away, and what remains is coconut oil in which the meat finishes by frying rather than simmering.

That is exactly why rendang kept without refrigeration — it was its original purpose. Dry rendang lasts weeks; a wet one stopped earlier lasts days.

It needs frequent stirring, and constant stirring towards the end. In the last stage it catches within a minute, and four hours of work go with it.

Worth knowing

• — Use full-fat tinned coconut milk, not the drinking kind from a carton. The latter will not release any oil at all.
• — Galangal is not interchangeable with ginger — they are different flavours. Without it, calling the dish something else is the honest move.
• — Rendang is better on the second and third day. In Indonesia it is deliberately made ahead.

Nutrition

Per serving at the base yield, calculated from the ingredients rather than measured in a lab.

Calories

720 kcal

Protein

46 g

Fat

52 g

Carbs

14 g

More from Indonesia

• Nasi goreng — Fried rice with a chilli and shrimp-paste base, sweet soy sauce and an egg on top.