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Indonesian Beef Rendang

Beef rendang is Indonesian beef curry cooked in spiced coconut milk until all the liquid evaporates leaving the meat tastes rich and delicious.

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs
Total Time
2 hrs 15 mins
Servings: 10
Calories: 329 kcal
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Indonesian

Ingredients

  • 1 ¾ pounds boneless beef cut in chunks.
  • 2 medium-sized onions finely chopped.
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin.
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander.
  • ½ Inch galangal.
  • 1 inch ginger.
  • 1 ½ teaspoons red chilli pepper powder/ Kashmiri red chili powder, or 10-15 fresh red chillies (see the note)
  • 1 lemongrass.
  • ½ turmeric leaf optional.
  • 5 kaffir lime leaves.
  • 2 cans good quality coconut milk (2 x 13.5 fl.oz. canned unflavored coconut milk).
  • 1-2 teaspoons salt according to taste.

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Using a pestle and mortar, pound and grind the onions, galangal, ginger, and fresh chilies (if using) into a paste. You can also use a food processor to make this paste. Just put the onion, galangal, ginger, and chilies in the food processor. Then give it a blitz until all the become a thick paste.
  2. Put the meat in a big wok, add in the spices and herbs paste, the cumin, coriander, lemongrass, turmeric leaf, kaffir lime leaves, and salt. 
  3. Stir until all the meat pieces are covered with spices. Put the lid on and cook at medium heat. Keep checking and stirring every now and again.
  4. After about 20-30 minutes when the meat looks cooked, add in the coconut milk. Stir and cook further with the lid on at medium-high heat until the milk reaches boiling point, then turn the heat to low. If the coconut milk overflows your cooking pan, you can take the lid off or leave it slightly ajar. Don't forget to always keep checking and stirring. And be careful with the boiling gravy that can be scattered around.
  5. Rendang should be ready within a few hours. But at this point, the rendang will have quite a bit of gravy. You can enjoy it if you want to.
  6. If you like to have a proper Rendang Hitam (black rendang), you have to cook longer for at least another hour. Until all the liquid evaporates completely and the color of your rendang becomes very dark brown. You can quicken the process by cooking at medium-high heat so the gravy evaporates quickly. But, take care not to let it stick to the wok, or worse, to burn. Keep checking and stirring.
  7. When all the sauce is gone, and the rendang turns dark brown, you can switch the heat off. Your black rendang/ rendang hitam is ready.

Notes

  • If you use beef, you can either choose topside, shin, or brisket. Cut the meat into 2 inches cubes, and pierce each piece with skewers or a fork a few times. I promise this little thing will make your rendang tastier. 
  • You can use fresh red chilies, but make sure they’re grounded into a fine paste together with other herbs and spices. But really, I’ve tried using both fresh and dried chilies with the same result, which is yummy rendang. So, don’t fret if you can’t get fresh ones. Don’t worry, you can just use chili powder.
  • When it comes to chilies, you can always improvise according to your taste. Although the original rendang is quite hot due to a large number of chilies, in this recipe I only put a “moderate” amount of chilies. So, I suggest you put this moderate amount of chili at the beginning, then put some more after you tasted your rendang halfway through your cooking. 
  • If you use fresh lemongrass, cut it into one-inch length pieces so that we can get the most of its flavor. If you use lemongrass paste, you can put just a little less than one teaspoon of it. But please please don’t use lemongrass powder. They’re useless.
  • As for Turmeric leaf, I did put it as optional, but I strongly suggest you try your best to get it. If you can only get the powder form, put 1 teaspoon of it. But do not fret if this leaf is not available to you. You will still make a good rendang.

Nutrition Information

Serving 8portions Calories 329kcal (16%) Carbohydrates 5g (2%) Protein 18g (36%) Fat 28g (43%) Saturated Fat 19g (95%) Polyunsaturated Fat 1g Monounsaturated Fat 6g Cholesterol 48mg (16%) Sodium 286mg (12%) Potassium 434mg (12%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 1g (2%) Vitamin A 25IU (1%) Vitamin C 4mg (4%) Calcium 32mg (3%) Iron 4mg (22%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 10Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 329

% Daily Value*

Serving 8portions
Calories 329kcal 16%
Carbohydrates 5g 2%
Protein 18g 36%
Fat 28g 43%
Saturated Fat 19g 95%
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g 6%
Monounsaturated Fat 6g 30%
Cholesterol 48mg 16%
Sodium 286mg 12%
Potassium 434mg 9%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 1g 2%
Vitamin A 25IU 1%
Vitamin C 4mg 4%
Calcium 32mg 3%
Iron 4mg 22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.