Beef Rendang Recipe
A spicy, rich and creamy Malaysian stew that is totally delicious. It may take a long while to cook but the end result is so worth the wait.
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Post updated August 2023
There are many versions of Beef Rendang including one by The Hairy Bikers but I liked the look of this Rick Stein recipe. It's taken from Rick Stein's book Far Eastern Odyssey.
I'd never eaten Rendang before and had wanted to make it for ages. It does seem a bit of a faff, but it is worth it as it really is rather very yummy indeedy.
What is beef rendang?
Rendang is a dish that originated from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia and is now commonly served across the country.
One of the characteristic foods of Minangkabau culture, it is served at ceremonial occasions and to honour guests.
It's also popular in Malaysia and Singapore, rendang is traditionally prepared by the Malay community during festive occasions.
How to make beef rendang
Top Tips!
You will need a spice grinder to make this or you'll be there till next Christmas and probably still won't have got your spices how you need them!
I've recently bought a Krups Coffee or Spice Millfrom Amazon UK and it does the trick perfectly.
You'll also need a food processor.
Spice Paste for Ingredients
- 100g grated fresh coconut - I had to use unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 8 dried Kashmiri chillies
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 225g shallots or onions - roughly chopped
- 30g garlic - roughly chopped
- 50g peeled galangal or ginger
- 6 hot red birds eye chillies - seeded and roughly chopped
Once made your spice paste should look like this.
Rendang Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons of coconut oil - you can use vegetable oil
- 1.5 kg (3.30 pounds) of chuck steak (braising steak in the UK) - cut into 5-6cm chunks
- 1 quantity of rendang spice paste - as above
- 2 x 400ml canned coconut milk - don't buy the reduced fat stuff
- 4 fat lemongrass stalks - bruised - (just bash them lightly)
- 12 dried kaffir lime leaves - crumbled
- 2 x 7.5cm cinnamon sticks
- 125ml Tamarind water - soak the 60g of pulp in 125ml of hot water, break up the pulp with your fingers and then and leave for 5 minutes before straining the syrupy mixture through a fine sieve discarding the fibrous material and seeds.
- 1 tablespoon of palm sugar (sold as a golden/tan paste) - or you can use brown sugar but palm sugar will taste better in this dish.
Chances are if you've read this post this far, you like spicy food, so you might want to check out this Gordon Ramsay Spicy Beef Curry Recipe.
Have you tried this recipe? Please leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating in the recipe card below!
beef rendang, beef rendang recipe, rick stein, rendang recipe, authentic beef rendang
main, curry
Malaysian
Yield: 6
Author: Jan Bennett
Beef Rendang
I'd never had Rendang before and have wanted to make it for ages. Although it does seem a bit of a faff, although the end result is worth it.
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 3 HourTotal time: 3 H & 20 M
Ingredients
For the Spice Paste
- 100g grated fresh coconut - I had to use unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 8 dried Kashmiri chillies
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 225g shallots or onions - roughly chopped
- 30g garlic - roughly chopped
- 50g peeled galangal or ginger
- 6 hot red birds eye chillies - seeded and roughly chopped
For the Rendang
- 3 tablespoons of coconut oil - you can use vegetable oil
- 1.5 kg (3.30 pounds) of chuck steak (braising steak in the UK) - cut into 5-6cm chunks
- 1 quantity of rendang spice paste - as above
- 2 x 400ml canned coconut milk - don't buy the reduced fat stuff
- 4 fat lemongrass stalks - bruised - (just bash them lightly)
- 12 dried kaffir lime leaves - crumbled
- 2 x 7.5cm cinnamon sticks
- 125ml Tamarind water - soak the 60g of pulp in 125ml of hot water, break up the pulp with your fingers and then and leave for 5 minutes before straining the syrupy mixture through a fine sieve discarding the fibrous material and seeds.
- 1 tablespoon of palm sugar (sold as a golden/tan paste) - or you can use brown sugar but palm sugar will taste better in this dish.
Instructions
Make the Spice Paste
- Heat a dry, heavy-based, frying pan over medium heat.
- Add the coconut and stir for a few minutes until it is richly golden - don't let it burn.
- Tip into a food processor and leave to cool.
- Meanwhile, put the dried Kashmiri chillies, coriander seeds and cumin seeds into a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.
- Add this to the processor with the rest of the spice paste ingredients along with 100ml of water and blend to a smoothish paste.
Make the Rendang
- Heat the coconut oil or vegetable oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan.
- Add the beef and fry briefly until it has changed colour but not browned.
- Add the spice paste, coconut milk, lemongrass, lime leaves and cinnamon sticks and 1 and a half teaspoons of salt.
- Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, add the tamarind water and leave to simmer, uncovered for 2 and a half hours to 3 hours, stirring occasionally, and more frequently towards the end of cooking.
- Check the beef and cook for a little longer if it needs it until the beef is tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened, but do keep an eye on it to ensure it doesn't burn.
- Remove the lemongrass from the rendang and stir in the palm sugar and season to taste.
- Serve straight away with some Jasmine rice.
Notes:
You will need a spice grinder to make this or you'll be there till next Christmas, and probably still won't have got your spices how you need them!
Did you make this recipe?
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