Rendang Daging

Rendang Daging is a dry beef curry – and my absolute favourite curry of all time. All the work for Rendang is in the preparation, and it needs to be cooked for a few hours but the reward is melt-in-your-mouth meat and such wonderful, aromatic flavours that activate every taste bud in your mouth.

As with everything – I like my dishes really spicy. Even with 5 fresh chillies, this made people’s noses run and sweat a little, but with 10, things are really spicy and delicious. Not overpowering, but just enough to make you sweat a little – just how I like it! Add as many or as little as you like to suit your spice tolerance.

INGREDIENTS:

• 750g – 1kg beef, cut into cubes. (I used blade steak. Chuck, flank or similar is fine)
• 5 tablespoons oil
• 1 cinnamon stick (about 4cm long)
• 3 cloves
• 3 star anise
• 3 cardamom pods (gently pounded to open)
• 1 lemongrass (Pounded – keep the green stem from the spice paste lemongrass)
• 1 cup thick coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• 2 teaspoons tamarind pulp
• 3 kaffir lime leaves (very finely sliced)
• 1 cup kerisik (toasted coconut, see below)
• 1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste – optional)
• 2 tbsp Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)

SPICE PASTE:

• 5 kemiri (candlenuts – use macadamias for substitute)
• 5 shallots
• 2 tsp galangal powder (2cm fresh)
• 3 lemongrass (white part only – keep the green stems)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2cm ginger (thumb size)
• 5-10 fresh red chillies (de-seeded)
• 5-10 dried chilies (soaked in warm water and de-seeded)

FOR KERISIK:

1. 1 cup dessicated coconut
2. Dry fry the coconut on a low heat until is it toasted a golden brown
3. You can use it as is, but it is recommended to blend the coconut while it is still warm into a finer paste

METHOD:

1. Chop the spice paste ingredients and then blend it in a food processor into a paste
2. Heat the oil in a pot, add the spice paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom and stir-fry them until aromatic.
3. Add the beef and the pounded lemongrass and stir for 1 minute.
4. Add the coconut milk, tamarind juice, water, kecap manis and simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently until the meat is almost cooked.
5. Add the kaffir lime leaves, kerisik (toasted coconut), sugar, stirring to blend well with the meat.
6. Lower the heat to low, cover with lid, and simmer for 1 – 3 hours or until the meat is really tender and the gravy has dried up.
7. Serve immediately with steamed rice and save some for overnight! (It gets better overnight!)

TIP:

When slicing the kaffir lime leaves, lay them on top of each other and roll them up into a tube. This makes it easier to slice them all together!

During the cooking process, you will notice the oil rising to the surface – this is normal. The meat will absorb all the coconut milk and water, and finally absorb the oil.