andrejthechef
IndonesiaStewDinnerGluten-freeDairy-free

Rendang Daging

Beef slow-cooked in coconut milk and spices for hours, until the sauce reduces to a dark, thick coating. Minangkabau's signature dish, done the long way.

prep
30 min
cook
4 h
total
4 h 30 min
serves
6
level
hard
Rendang Daging, a dish from Minangkabau, West Sumatra

Rendang comes from the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, and real rendang is not a curry you can rush. It is beef and coconut milk, cooked down for hours until almost all the liquid is gone and what is left clings to the meat like a dark glaze.

The long cook is not optional theater. It is what breaks the coconut milk down into oil and caramelizes the spices into the meat, and stopping early just gets you a different, wetter dish, not a faster version of this one.

Part of our 20 best Indonesian recipes list.

method

  1. Blend the shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, chilies and turmeric into a smooth paste.

  2. Put the coconut milk in a wide, heavy pot and bring to a simmer, stirring often so it does not split.

  3. Add the spice paste, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric leaf if using. Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring regularly.

  4. Add the beef and tamarind paste. Bring back to a simmer, then lower the heat so the pot barely bubbles.

  5. Cook uncovered, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, for 3 to 3.5 hours. The liquid will gradually reduce and thicken, so watch it more closely as it gets lower.

  6. In the last 45 minutes, the sauce will turn from a wet, pale gravy into a thick, dark paste. Keep stirring and scraping the bottom so it does not catch and burn.

  7. The rendang is done when the sauce is dark brown to almost black, thick enough to coat the meat rather than pool around it, and the oil has visibly separated. Season with salt and serve with rice.

chef's tips

  • If the sauce is still pale and wet after 3 hours, it is not undercooked rendang, it is a dish called kalio, a real stop along the way but not the finished thing. Keep going until it turns dark and thick.
  • Low heat and a wide pot matter more than exact timing. A narrow pot traps steam and the liquid never reduces properly.
  • Turmeric leaf is hard to find outside Indonesia and Malaysia. The dish is still excellent without it; do not substitute regular turmeric for it, since the flavor is quite different.
  • Good rendang keeps at room temperature for a day or two, which is the traditional point: it was built to survive in a hot climate without refrigeration.