Beef Rendang

How to Make Beef Rendang

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1. Blend all the spice paste ingredients to a smooth paste with a splash of water.

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2. Heat the coconut oil in a wide, heavy pot and fry the paste over medium heat for 10 minutes until it darkens and the oil separates.

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3. Add the cinnamon, star anise and cloves and fry 1 minute more.

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4. Add the beef and turn it thoroughly in the paste for 5 minutes.

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5. Pour in the coconut milk, add the lemongrass, lime leaves, turmeric leaves, palm sugar, tamarind and salt.

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6. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 hours. The liquid will reduce and thicken into a rich gravy — this is the kalio stage.

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7. Stir in the kerisik and continue cooking, now stirring every 5 to 10 minutes, for another 60 to 90 minutes.

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8. The sauce will darken from orange to brown to almost black, then break, releasing oil. Keep stirring so nothing catches.

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9. The rendang is done when there is no liquid left, the meat is coated in a dark dry paste, and it is visibly frying in its own oil.

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10. Rest 20 minutes and serve at room temperature or warm, with rice.

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Related guide: Prep, cook and total time.

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Small Things That Help

• Kerisik — coconut toasted dark and ground to a paste — is what gives rendang its texture. Make it by dry-frying desiccated coconut until deep brown and blitzing it.
• Stir constantly in the last hour. This is when it catches and burns.
• It genuinely improves over two or three days, which is why it was originally made for long journeys.

Common Substitutions & Variations

• If coconut is a problem, a cooking cream (dairy or plant-based) can stand in for the coconut milk in a sauce; the dish will lose the coconut flavour and taste noticeably different.
• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the red chillies. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.
• Lemon is the everyday swap for lime in this kind of dish — the acidity plays the same role even though the flavour is not identical.

What Goes With Beef Rendang

• Steamed rice or nasi lemak
• Sayur lodeh or a simple vegetable
• A cold beer

Leftovers and Storage

Refrigerate up to 1 week — it improves — and freeze 3 months. Reheat gently with a splash of water.

Beef Rendang: Questions and Answers

Nutrition per Serving

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

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