Beef Rendang

Beef Rendang is a flavorful West Sumatran dry curry made with beef cooked with a spice paste and coconut milk until fork tender. It's then fried together with the remaining braising ingredients until the liquid caramelizes around the meat, coating it with an incredible amount of flavor.

Course Entree

Cuisine Best, Southeast Asian

Keyword braised, curry, sumatran

Level Intermediate

Main Ingredient Beef

Diet Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Low-Carb

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 4 45

Total Time 4 55

Servings servings

Calories 423kcal

Equipment

Ingredients

For the spice paste

1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground coriander seed
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
2.5 centimeters fresh ginger (roughly chopped)
25 grams garlic (roughly chopped)
200 grams shallots (4 large roughly chopped)
3 tablespoons chili pepper flakes (to taste)

For cooking the Rendang

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
900 grams beef shanks or shortribs (cut into large cubes)
2 stalks lemongrass (white part only, smashed)
4 kaffir lime leaves (or 1 teaspoon Makrut lime zest)
2.5 centimeters galangal (sliced into coins)
2 packs coconut cream powder (or 1 can coconut milk)
1 tablespoon coconut sugar (brown sugar or palm sugar can be substituted)

Grams + US Cups - US Standard

Instructions

Add all the 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed, ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric, 2.5 centimeters fresh ginger, 25 grams garlic, 200 grams shallots, and 3 tablespoons chili pepper flakes to a food processor and run until there are no clumps left and you have a smooth spice paste. You'll need to scape the bowl down a few times. It's possible to double the recipe and freeze half for another time.
1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground coriander seed, ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric, 2.5 centimeters fresh ginger, 25 grams garlic, 200 grams shallots, 3 tablespoons chili pepper flakes
Add the 2 tablespoons vegetable oil to a heavy bottomed pot and heat over medium high heat until shimmering. Fry the 900 grams beef shanks in batches, allowing each surface to brown before turning. Transfer the browned beef to a bowl and repeat with the remaining meat.
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, 900 grams beef shanks
Smash 2 stalks lemongrass and add them to the pot along with 4 kaffir lime leaves, and 2.5 centimeters galangal to the hot oil and fry until fragrant. Transfer to the bowl with the browned beef, leaving the oil in the pot.
2 stalks lemongrass, 4 kaffir lime leaves, 2.5 centimeters galangal
Turn the heat down to medium-low, and then add the spice paste ingredients. Fry, stirring constantly until very fragrant and most of the moisture has evaporated (about 10-15 minutes). If the paste starts burning, reduce the heat and add a bit of water.
Rehydrate the 2 packs coconut cream powder in 2 cups of water and then add it to the pot along with the 1 tablespoon coconut sugar. Return the beef and herbs to the pot and stir to combine.
2 packs coconut cream powder, 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
Turn the heat down to medium-low and loosely cover it with a lid (you want some steam to escape). Stir the Rendang periodically and simmer for 3-4 hours until the meat is very tender. You can speed this process up by cooking in a pressure cooker for 45 minutes.
Once the meat is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated (about 4 hours), remove the lid and turn up the heat. At this point, there should be quite a bit of oil in the pot from the meat, so you're essentially frying the sauce and concentrating the flavors. You'll need to stir the mixture constantly to prevent it from burning, but you want to evaporate as much liquid as you can without burning the meat. Keep in mind that oil does not evaporate during cooking, so you will still have a bit of oil at the bottom of the pan.
The rendang beef is done when almost no sauce is left and the meat is dark brown. Ideally, you'll let this sit overnight for the flavors to evenly distribute into the meat. During this time, the meat will turn chocolate-colored, and the flavors will deepen. Serve the beef rendang with steamed rice.

Nutrition