Malaysian Beef Rendang

Malaysian beef rendang recipe

Malaysian Beef Rendang

Recipe Type: Entree

Cuisine: Malaysian

Author: Caroline Artiss

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 1 hour 45 mins

Total time: 2 hours 5 mins

Serves: 4

Beef Rendang is a traditional Malaysian dish. Bursting full of exotic flavours like cardamon, star anise, lemon grass and coconut. 

Ingredients

• Spice paste:

• 2cm piece ginger

• 2cm piece of galangal (or more ginger if you cannot get it)

• 3 fresh chillies

• 1 brown onion (cut into quarters)

• 2 cloves garlic

• 2 stalks of lemon grass (outer layer removed)

• Main ingredients:

• 1 cup desiccated coconut

• ½ kg beef cubed (topside or stewing steak is fine)

• 4 cloves

• 3 star anise

• 4 cardamom pods

• ½ cinnamon stick

• 1 lemon stalk crushed at the end

• 1-½ cups of coconut milk

• 1 tsp tamarind paste (or ½ the juice of a lemon)

• 2 lime leaves

• ½ tbsp brown sugar

• 1 tbsp soy sauce

Instructions

1. Dry fry the coconut in a pan until it turns brown and smells fantastic

2. Dry fry simply means you don’t add any oil or fat

3. Just keep stirring or tossing it until it toasts. Leave in a bowl for later

1. Next step is to add all the spice paste ingredients into a blender and with a dash of oil and blend until it turns into paste

2. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a pan, add the spice paste, cloves, cardamom, star anise, and cinnamon stick and gently fry for about 5 minutes

3. This releases all the flavours from the spices

4. Add the beef, tamarind, and lemon grass, lime leaves

5. Fry together until the beef turns brown then add the coconut milk

6. Bring to the boil and then turn the heat to its lowest

7. Cover the pan and leave to simmer for an hour and 15 mins

8. Check every now and then to make sure there is still liquid in there and it is not sticking to the bottom of the pan

9. If there is not enough liquid you can add a bit of water

10. After an hour, take the lid off the pan and leave to simmer for another ½ hour

11. This is meant to be a dry dish so this will let the liquid evaporate a bit

12. When the beef is tender and falling apart it is ready

13. Add the toasted coconut, sugar and soy sauce and stir together

14. Serve this dish with steamed hot rice