Voted the most delicious food in the world, this Indonesian/Malaysian beef rendang is one of the most complex flavoured dishes I've ever made. Herbs, spices and coconut milk are slowly cooked and reduced into a thick flavourful sauce that coats the fork tender beef.
It's a dish that takes patience, but it's quite easy and is well worth every minute spent. Beef is my favourite but you can also try making chicken rendang, using bone-in dark meat chicken.
PS. Don't have a few hours to make rendang quite yet? Try this bo luc lac recipe which is a Vietnamese favourite, also known as shaking beef. It's much faster and easier, but will satisfy your beef cravings!
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Malaysian/Indonesian Beef Rendang
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
Paste
- 10g dried mild chilies (I'm using guajillo)
- 6 cloves garlic
- ½ cup shallots, chopped
- 1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped
- 2-inch pc galangal, chopped
- 2-inch pc ginger, chopped
- 8 pc cloves
- 5 pc green cardamom
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 pc star anise
- 4 candlenuts
Curry
- 1½ lb (700g) stew beef such as chuck or boneless short ribs
- 2 cups coconut milk
- 2 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup dried shredded coconut (for making kerisik, see note)
- 6 kaffir lime leaves, torn into chunks
- Optional: Fish sauce for seasoning adjustment
Note: Kerisik is toasted coconut paste for adding and rich, toasty aroma.
Instructions
To make the kerisik: (You can make this in advance or while the beef cooks.) Toast the coconut in a dry saute pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until dark brown. Grind in a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder until it becomes and oily paste.
To make the paste: Grind dry chilies and spices in a coffee grinder until fine, then add candlenuts and grind until fine. In a blender, add galangal, ginger, lemongrass, shallots and garlic and blend until smooth, adding water as needed. Once fine, add the ground dry spices and blend to mix.
For the curry: Bring ½ cup of coconut milk to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed pot. Add the curry paste and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the paste is thick, and the coconut oil is starting to sizzle away from the paste.
Add the beef and toss to mix with the paste, add the remaining coconut milk and scrape off any bits of curry paste that might be stuck to the bottom of the pot.
Add salt and tamarind, then keep the pot loosely covered, let it simmer on low heat for 2.5-3 hours or until beef is fork tender. In the beginning, stir it every 20 minutes or so, but as the sauce gets thicker, you need to stir more frequently to make sure the curry paste doesn't stick and burn to the bottom of the pot. Towards the end I stir it every 5 minutes. You should have a very thick, not runny sauce, and you can add more water if it gets too dry as it cooks. If the beef is done, but there is too much liquid, just open the pot and stir for a few more minutes to let it reduce.
In the last few minutes of cooking stir in 1 tablespoon of kerisik, and roughly tear kaffir lime leaves into chunks and stir them in, letting them cook for a few more minutes to infuse. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Serve with rice, enjoy!
Julie Dambrosio says
Because fish sauce fixes everything!
Daniel Z. says
I lived in Indonesia for 17 years, cook Indonesian food a lot, and this is hands down the best rendang recipe I've found so far (and I've tested many!) Even my Indonesian wife and friends are amazed by the results. Serious kudos to Pailin for nailing this method, despite it not even being a Thai dish.
The only adjustment I make to achieve almost exactly the same taste as in traditional Indonesian warungs, is adding (to taste) a bit of palm sugar into the mix, after all the other ingredients. Without it, the stew tasted too bitter, requiring a touch of sweetness to balance out the other strong, deep flavors. I think I added maybe 3-4 tbsps of grated palm sugar. Then it came out perfect!
Re doubling, tripling or quadrupling this recipe (which I always do because it's a long process and the extra rendang freezes very nicely), just multiply the ingredients used, but as Pailin pointed out in a previous reply, expect the cooking/reduction process to take a bit longer due to the extra liquids. Totally worth it for the a additional yield though!
Lucas says
If I wanted to double this recipe, would I have to keep anything in mind? Or would it be totally fine?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
The amount of time it takes to reduce the curry will be longer because you will have more liquid to go through. So make sure you use a wide enough pot so it doesn't take too long!
Michael says
Hello,
do you have an advice how to make Rendang using the well-known Cock Red Curry Paste (e.g. w.amazon.de/Cock-Brand-Rote-Currypaste-400g/dp/B003W5OTYS?th=1) as basis. The ingrediants seem to be similar, so it shopuld be possible achieving a similar result when adding some other things which are missing or are to less.
Best regards, Michael
Amanda W. says
This is the second time I have made this. It is really fantastic! I tinkered a little in this go round by doubling the chiles (and adding a couple chile de arbol) and adding shrimp paste to the rempah (instead of fish sauce at the end). Also doubled the kerisik. I used trimmed blade steak. Delicious tonight and I'm looking forward to the leftovers later this week!
Cary says
This was a hassle to make. Cooking it for that long feels like I just made spiced mush. I would only do this again if I were to use chicken which cooks faster.
Charles says
Making this rendang for the second time, it is truly delicious with many layers of flavour. I slow cook it for 5 hours. Curious to know why you don't caremalise the beef? I definitely works without!
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Glad to hear you love it! Browning beef for stewing is not a traditional technique used in Southeast Asian cuisine, and in fact I'm not sure how much of a difference it will make given the strong flavours of the herbs and spices. It might make some difference, but it might be subtle and may not be worth the extra step. It will definitely not hurt if you want to try it out!
Chris Page says
Gave your recipe a shot today at the start of my holidays. Amazing stuff!! Thank you. Hands down my fave curry of all time.
Entropy says
I'm making it for about the 5th time right now, but this time, I'm experimenting with a pressure cooker. Hopefully I can knock a couple hours off the 5 or so it usually takes me, begining to end. If it works I'll make it more often because....wow is it good!
Tracy says
This is super tasty and love it. Thanks for sharing. Can I use pork for this recipe?
jandee says
This turned out amazing! Thanks for the detailed recipe. You are the best!
Carlos Y says
Wonderful recipe!
I make big batches at the time and freeze them. My Kaffir lime tree provides fresh leaves! I keep it in a pot and bring it in in the winter. This year I used my own lemon grass grown from stacks bought at the store. I wouldn’t change anything. I add some fresh ground cloves and cardamom at the very end for fragrance. Toasted coconut is a must!
Denny says
Pailin, some Indonesian chefs add turmeric & turmeric leaf to add flavor to the dish. I would like to try adding a spoonful of fish sauce to see how it may affect the taste. Thank you for sharing this recipe with us.
Joyce Stolte says
Supertasty rendang! Thank you, I really enjoy your way of cooking 🥰
Do you have suggestions for me how to cook this recipe in the slowcooker?
What do I need tot adjust?
I made it on the stove, that was delicious!
Krittika says
Made this over a dozen times using this recipe. It is definitely one of the most delicious foods in the world. I recommend using tbe fish sauce as it gives a well rounded flavour.
billy.time says
สวัสดีครับ🙏
สูตรนี้อร่อยมาก.
It's super tasty. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe with us.
I added some mint to it as garnish after finishing.
Wendy says
En éste momento está cocinandose. Para mi gusto demasiado picante pero según mi marido (es malayo) debería haberle puesto más Chile ja ja ja, nunca llueve a gusto de todos saludos desde Guadalajara - España y cuídate mucho
Stephen Chan says
Love this, this is exactly a restaurant-grade recipe, I could totally eat this alone with rice for days.