Rendang (Indonesian Beef and Coconut Stew)
Rendang is made from beef or water buffalo meat slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices. The coconut milk used in cooking turns into a delicious spicy sauce that is more delicious than the meat itself.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 10 min
- Total
- 1 hr 40 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Procedure
Using a food processor, grind together all the ingredients for the spice paste.
Procedure
Marinate meat with the spice paste for at least 1 hour.
Procedure
Heat the coconut milk over low heat until some oil rises to the surface (at least 20 minutes). Stir the coconut milk while it is cooking.
Procedure
Transfer the meat and spice paste mixture to a large wok or pot. Cover with 300 ml of the hot coconut milk.
Procedure
Stirring occasionally, cook over medium-low heat until half of the coconut milk has evaporated.
Procedure
Add another 100 ml hot coconut milk, and stir until almost all of the coconut milk has evaporated.
Procedure
Keep on adding coconut milk, 100 ml at a time, and cooking until the previous addition has evaporated.
Procedure
Cook until the meat is tender (at least 1½ hours) and almost all the liquid from the coconut milk has reduced to a spicy sauce.
Notes, tips, and variations
When cooled, the coconut oil in the rendang may solidify. Reheat in a pan before serving. A reheated rendang often has better flavor.
Notes, tips, and variations
Fresh coconut milk produces a better sauce.
Notes, tips, and variations
Chicken or mutton can be used in place of beef.
Notes, tips, and variations
Beef liver may be used but produces a darker sauce.
Photo: Sakurai Midori · CC BY-SA 3.0 · http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 12 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Approximate values per serving. Worked out from the ingredient list — treat them as a guide, not a measurement.
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