Beef rendang is one of those dishes that defines the holiday season. An authentic rendang, however, cannot simply be thrown together – it usually takes three hours of cooking time or more, plus a long and intimidating list of ingredients.
Buying readymade rendang might seem like an obvious solution, but if you’re living away from home – especially overseas – it might be a bit of a challenge. And celebrating Hari Raya away from Malaysia means having to figure out how to get a taste of home without denting your budget.
The good news is, you can whip up a delicious rendang without breaking the bank, in only two hours from prep to the dining table. Give this recipe a try, especially if you’re a homesick student having to celebrate Aidilfitri abroad.
It will result in an authentic beef rendang that tastes just like home!
Ingredients
- 1.5kg beef
- 1/4 cup sweet soya sauce
- 3 big onions, finely sliced
- 1 bulb garlic, peeled
- 5cm ginger, peeled and sliced
- 200g desiccated coconut
- 30 pieces of dried chilli
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp asam jawa (tamarind) in a bowl with 1/4 cup water
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2.5 cups thick coconut milk
- 1/2 cup oil
Method
- Marinate the beef with the sweet soya sauce for at least an hour. This step can be prepared way ahead of time, in which case, cover and refrigerate until you are ready to cook.
- Slice off the first 7cm of lemongrass and dice finely. Save the rest of the stalk. In a blender, blitz the diced lemongrass, peeled garlic, dried chillies and ginger with 1/2 cup water.
- Heat your wok or deep frying pan with the oil and fry the onions until they turn yellow, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining lemongrass stalk and stir-fry until fragrant.
- Add the marinated beef and fry until just cooked, about 5 minutes.
- Add the blended lemongrass-garlic-chilli-ginger mix and stir until the beef is coated through. Add the turmeric.
- Stir in the coconut milk and lower the fire to between low and medium heat. Leave the dish to simmer until the beef softens, approximately 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the beef.
- Toss in the salt and stir through, followed by the desiccated coconut. Add the brown sugar.
- Pour in the asam jawa. If you use tamarind with seeds, run the liquid through a sifter so you won’t get any of the seeds in the rendang.
- Leave the rendang to simmer for a further 5 to 10 minutes.
- Finally, do a taste test and add more salt, sugar, or asam jawa as desired.
- Dish out, serve with hot, fragrant steamed rice and enjoy!
Tips
- Use good-quality beef to cut down on your cooking time.
- Store leftovers in the fridge to be enjoyed the next day… perhaps try making a rendang sandwich!
This article first appeared in butterkicap.com, a food and culture platform and community that enables anyone to experience Malaysia through stories of its people, food and places.