Beef Rendang

5 from 2 votes

This Beef Rendang recipe is an absolute keeper! It is a popular Indonesian dish with flavourful chunks of beef that are slowly braised in an aromatic spiced coconut gravy that will keep you coming back for more.

Author: Taste of Nusa

Course: Main

Cuisine: Indonesian

Difficulty: Hard

Dietary: Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free

Servings: rendang

Prep Time:15

Cook Time:3 20

Total Time:3 35

Ingredients

4.4 lbs (2 kg) beef chuck/shank, cut into 3x2x0.5-inch/7.5x5x1.3 cm pieces
3 stalks lemongrass, use the lower white part only, bruised
5 salam leaves or Indonesian bay leaves
8 kaffir lime leaves, (4 joined leaves) torn
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp granulated mushroom bouillon
6 cups (1.5 liter) coconut milk
1/4 cup (50 gr) shaved palm sugar block or brown sugar, optional

Spice Paste

18 cloves garlic
18 shallots
7 oz (200 gr) curly red chilis
15 candlenuts
2 inch (5 cm) ginger, peeled, roughly sliced
2 1/2 inch (6.5 cm) galangal, peeled, roughly sliced
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tbsp whole white peppercorns
3/4 cup (180 ml) vegetable oil, preferably coconut oil

Instructions

Blend the spice paste ingredients in a blender until smooth.
Stir fry the spice paste with aromatics – Transfer the spice paste to a big frying pan or wok. Heat on low heat and stir fry until the paste begins to look oily for about 7-8 minutes. Add lemongrass stalks, salam leaves, and kaffir lime leaves. Stir fry until the paste is fully cooked or the oil separates from the spices for another 5-7 minutes.
Add beef, salt, and granulated mushroom bouillon. Toss until the beef is coated with the spice paste.
Add coconut milk and palm sugar. Stir until combined.
Boil – Turn the heat to high heat and bring to a boil.
Braise – Lower the heat to medium heat and let it simmer for about 2.5-3 hours until all liquid evaporates, leaving you with thick and dark brown rendang. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pot occasionally to prevent the bottom from getting burnt during this process.
Serve rendang with steaming white rice along with some side dishes.

Notes

Make sure to cook the spices until fully cooked – Take your time to stir-fry the spice paste on low heat until the spices are cooked. You will know that the paste is ready when you see the paste turns oily and the oil has separated from the spices. If you don't cook the spice paste properly, your rendang will not taste deep.

You can omit the palm sugar – Adding palm sugar will add a little bit of sweetness that balances the strong flavor of spices. You can omit it if you don't want to your rendang taste sweet.

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