Rendang

- Padang-Style Curried Beef -

Of the many Padang dishes, Rendang is the most famous. It is a delicious beef curry made by cooking beef slowly in heaps of fresh Indonesian spices and coconut milk until it is all very well toasted and the flavour is full. It is said that this dish was originally developed as a way to preserve beef, and that cooking it for so long in the coconut milk helped it keep longer. Rendang has become one of the most beloved of Southeast Asian dishes, and luckily for us it is surprisingly easy to make.

The spice paste and spices:

- Rendang -

Ingredients:

• 500g beef
• 200 ml thick coconut milk (santan)
• 1 litre water
• 3 tbsp oil
  
  Spice paste:
• 50g very spicy red chilis (cabe rawit)
• 50g moderately spicy red chilis (cabe merah)
• 15 shallots (bawang merah)
• 5 cloves garlic (bawang putih)
• 5 candlenuts (kemiri)
• 1 inch ginger (jahe)
• 1 inch galangal (lengkuas)
• 1 inch fresh tumeric (kunyit)
• 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tbsp salt
  
  Non-blended Spices:
• 4 kaffir lime leaves (daun jeruk)
• 4 Indonesian bay leaves (daun salam)
• 2 tumeric leaves (just omit if you cannot find them)
• 2 stalks  lemongrass, bruised
• 50g fresh tamarind paste (OR 2 cm asam kandis instead if you can find it)

The pot of Rendang as it first begins to boil:

Directions:

First make the spice paste: 

1. Clean and peel all your spices, and whiz them to a paste in a blender or magic bullet with enough water to make a smooth puree

Then begin:

1. Heat 3 tbsp oil into a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the pureed spice mix and fry over medium-low heat until fragrant
2. Wash and add the additional herbs and spices and toast a minute or two longer
3. Add the beef and fry, stirring a minute or so longer
4. Pour in the water and thick coconut milk. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has evaporated and the sauce has become a deep brown, as in the picture below.
5. Serve with steamed rice and a vegetable sides such as tumeric fried cabbage and blanched cassava leaves.

Enjoy!