Beef Rendang (Ultimate Guide)

Rendang is a caramelized meat curry dish from West Sumatra, Indonesia. It needs hours of slow cooking until the coconut milk is caramelized and turns into its signature luscious texture. Together with homemade coconut butter and a load of spices, the dish is a delicious affair.

5 stars

Preparation 15 mins
Cooking 150 mins

Side

Rendang Daging

Malay, Malaysian, Singaporean, Indonesian

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Nutrition per Serving

474 kcal
31 g
31 g
23 g


Rendang is a very special curry dish. Made with a selection of 10 different types of spices such as chillies, turmeric, lemongrass and galangal, it easily stands out for its awesome flavour which develops over the long and slow cooking process. It's so tasty that it was voted as the most delicious food in the world based on 35,000 votes in a survey carried out by CNN. The complexity of the dish and the details that come along with it made rendang an exclusive dish. It's usually served for weddings, religious celebrations and coronation ceremonies. Now that we know rendang is the king of curries and tastes extremely delicious, it is important to understand the dish and the tips to achieve the best result.

Rendang originates from the Minangkabau ethnic from West Sumatra. With the migration of Minangkabau immigrants to its neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Malaysia, it was then introduced to other neighbouring countries such as Malaysia and Singapore. The name ‘rendang’ came from the Sumatran word ‘randang’ which means slowly. This clearly refers to the cooking process which takes a long time. Traditionally, it takes between 8 hours to 3 days to cook rendang! Some suggested that the correct name for the dish should be the latter instead of what it is known today.

How does rendang taste like?

Rendang does not tastes like the red curries from Thailand or India. Instead, it is thick and has a texture almost like soft butter. The mixture of spices blend in harmoniously giving it a touch of heat that comes through subtly when eaten. The sensation of smell and taste of rendang is simply divine. Besides that, the aroma from the spices and the nutty flavour of ‘kerisik’ which is also known as coconut butter make the dish stands out from the other types of curries.

Kerisik
Kerisik

Kerisik is made of grated coconut which has been toasted until golden brown before being pounded until its oil is released. It is usually added to dishes and stewed for hours for all the ingredients to release their optimum flavours.

Why does it take so long to cook rendang?

The initial intention when making rendang was to prepare a dish that would keep for a long period without the help of refrigerators. Cooking for a long time ensures that any excess liquid will be evaporated. Hence, allowing the dish to last longer. It also takes at least 2 hours 30 minutes (portion for 4-6 persons) for the coconut milk to begin caramelizing. So, be patient for the perfect colour and texture of the curry to emerge.

Tips to making delicious rendang

Rendang tips
Rendang tips

When sautéing the pounded or blended spices, you'll need to follow the steps recommended in the recipe as different spices or herbs need different amount of time to be cooked until it's fragrant. The sequence to sauteing the ingredients is lemon grass first followed by garlic-onion-ginger mixture then, galangal and lastly, shallots.

During the long cooking process, the sugar in the coconut milk caramelizes as the liquid is reduced. Subsequently, another crucial step which cannot be skipped is to sauté the meat until excess water is evaporated before adding the coconut milk. This will help to intensify the flavour besides reducing the excess liquid.

Can I use chicken to make rendang?

The original choice of meat for rendang is beef. Compared to chicken, beef is able to sustain the slow cooking process. Theoretically, chicken can be used but the meat would break down during the long cooking process. There will be lots of small chunks of chicken with strands of the protein in the pot at the end of cooking. That's why chicken rendang takes a shorter time to cook. Hence, the gravy wouldn't be as caramalized when compared to beef rendang.

chicken rendang
chicken rendang

However, unlike chicken, beef is able to handle the heat while retaining its shape. Therefore, the meat coated with the thick gravy is a delight to savour in every mouthful.

Which part of beef is suitable?

The cheapest cut of meat! Ask for beef meant for stew. Softer cuts of beef may risk turning out tough after the long cooking process. Beef used for stew is usually from the shoulder and upper arm muscles of a cow and sometimes labeled as chunk.

Type of chillies used

I used a combination of dried and fresh chillies. The dried chillies are used for its smoky flavour while fresh chillies gives a nice shade of redness to the curry. You may opt for either type if you're unable to get both. As for dried chillies, I used the Sri Lankan dried chillies as they are the only type available at the Asian grocer I used to frequent. Dried chillies of the types Byadgi or Kashmiri would work equally good too. To learn more about reducing the spiciness of dried chillies, tips on substitutes or where to buy them, check out this page about dried chillies.

As for fresh chillies, cayenne peppers is the best choice for its size and also level of spiciness. If you are not at all used to spice and heat, use long red paprika. They are also known as Boldog paprika. This might be offensive to rendang lovers but it's a great substitute to introduce rendang to non-spicy eaters. If Boldog paprika is used, do sauté them until it is fragrant and ensure that most liquid from the paprika is evaporated.

Pound, blend or chop the herbs?

While blending is the easiest out of the other 2 processes, pounding gives the best flavour as oil from the spices and herbs are released. If you choose to chop the herbs, do ensure that they are chopped finely as the long stewing process may not be able to soften ingredients like galangal and lemongrass. Biting into any of these herbs might be unpleasant. If you don't choose to mince the lemongrass, leave it as it is as it can be removed after cooking.

How long can I keep rendang?

If cooked properly and excess water is removed according to the recommended steps, rendang can be kept at room temperature for up to 3 weeks. However, this recipe does not cater for such long storage. It's best to cool the dish to room temperature before refrigerating it for up to 5 days. You may freeze the dish in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

How to reheat rendang?

You maybe use the microwave to reheat the dish. Frozen rendang should be thawed before reheating. If you do not have a microwave, steam the dish for at least 40 minutes to ensure that it is fully heated.

Cooking rendang in a slow cooker

You may cook beef rendang using a slow cooker. Simply put all the blended ingredients, meat, coconut milk and water into the slow cooker and cook for 12 hours. The beef rendang will be very tender.


Ingredients

Servings:  
3 cm
ginger
3
garlic clove(s)
1
yellow onion(s)
5
shallot(s)
1 1⁄2 cups
chilli peppers (dried)
2
fresh chilli (red)
2
lemongrass stalk(s)
3 cm
galangal
4 tbsp
oil
500 g
beef
1 tsp
coriander powder
1 tsp
fennel seeds
1 tsp
cumin powder
1 tbsp
tamarind pulp
500 ml
coconut milk
2 tsp
palm sugar (gula melaka)
1⁄2 tbsp
salt
2 tbsp
kerisik
1⁄2 cup
water

Steps to Prepare

Beef Rendang (Ultimate Guide) Step 1

Step 1 of 4

Pound the following ingredients separately. Bowl 1 - ginger, garlic and onion. Bowl 2 -shallots, bowl 3 - fresh and dried chillies and the last bowl - galangal. Set aside. Bruise the most bottom part of the lemongrass by lightly crushing it with a pestle or the back of a knife.

Beef Rendang (Ultimate Guide) Step 2

Step 2 of 4

    • 4 tbsp oil

In a pot heated over low to medium heat, saute lemongrass until fragrant before adding the ginger, garlic and onion mixture. Continue sautéing until the mixture turns almost translucent. Add galangal and sauté until fragrant before adding shallots.

Beef Rendang (Ultimate Guide) Step 3

Step 3 of 4

    • 500 g beef
    • 1 tsp coriander powder
    • 1 tsp fennel seeds
    • 1 tsp cumin powder

Coat beef evenly with pounded chillies, coriander powder, fennel seeds and cumin powder. Add beef to the pot. Sauté until excess water from beef is released. This will take a few minutes. It is important not to skip this step.

Beef Rendang (Ultimate Guide) Step 4

Step 4 of 4

    • 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
    • 500 ml coconut milk
    • 2 tsp palm sugar (gula melaka)
    • 1⁄2 tbsp salt
    • 2 tbsp kerisik
    • 1⁄2 cup water

Soak tamarind in hot water. Add coconut milk, tamarind water, palm sugar and kerisik into the pot. Increase heat to the maximum and bring to boil. Then, reduce heat to the lowest. Cover the pot and allow dish to simmer for 2 hours or until gravy thickens. Stir every 15-20 minutes to prevent ingredients from sticking to the pot. Once the dish is ready, stir in a few slices of kaffir lime leaves.

Published: June 29, 2019


10 Discussions

Uli Marx
2 years ago

Uli Marx

I tried your recipe today and it turned out great. The one thing I'd like to see in recipes is for example seeing the amount of shallots in grams. I'm from Germany and live in the US and feel that shallots over here are huge in comparison to for example Germany. I may be wrong on that one but having the amount in grams would be awesome.

Lesley 🌸
3 years ago

Lesley 🌸

Finally made beef rendang and kerisik. I used packaged dessicated coconu and it turned out. I think frozen would be better. The dessicated seemed a bit sweet. No galangal so i added extra ginger. No kaffir lime leaves so i added lime juice at the end. Should i add zest too?? I threw the pot in the oven for a couple of hours ,then, finished on the stove top. What is the difference between this beef rendang side dish and the other recipe on your site for a main meal? Terima kaseh 🙏 This site is so fun and informative😊🥥😊

Jean Wong
3 years ago

Jean Wong

I tried the chicken rendang first and loved it. So here I am trying the beef rendang. I used chuck steak and doubled the recipe quantity. I followed the recipe prep exactly as is and pounded everything, no shortcuts. Endurance is required for this and I don't know how to pick galangal, it was like pounding a tree root. I admit I felt like my arms were going to fall off and really wasn't sure this was going to be worth it. I think the brand of coconut milk i used was more watery than expected. It didn't dry up like the video but it was still very enjoyable. I gave a serve to my parents. They couldn't find the chuck pieces I had put in. I must have stirred it till it disappeared. I thought really screwed it up but they loved the flavour so much, they threw in more meat and kept it going for days to savour the flavour. The flavour is awesome, even if some steps don't work out as expected. Will try again using a blender. Thanks for the yummy recipe. 5 out of 5!

Corina Yeo
4 years ago

Corina Yeo

Made this today and it turned out awesome.. Thanks for this recipe... finally succeeded in making good rendang. I transferred the rendang to the pressure cooker after step 4 to tenderize the beef. After that I transferred to the stove to continue cooking till it "thickens"....

Julian Titheridge
4 years ago

Julian Titheridge

Best rendang recipe ever! Grace, I love you X

Bashir Bashardoost
4 years ago

Bashir Bashardoost

The recipe and guidelines are so thorough, appreciate the time and effort i tried it and the results were great wish i could share a picture here, once again thanks a lot for sharing your experience and passion with us.

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Happy to hear how the recipe helped you! I have linked your photo to this recipe. It's in the food snap gallery above ;)

Mary Ng
5 years ago

Mary Ng

I made this and it's delicious. I added another 100g of beef as the ingredients are more than enough for the extra meat. I grinded all the aromatics (lemongrass, shallots, onions, garlic, galangal and ginger) together. And grinded the chillies separately. The grinded lemongrass gave the dish some texture which I prefer. Happy cooking everyone.

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
4 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

How wonderful, Mary!

Claudine Moloney
5 years ago

Claudine Moloney

Hi Grace. Hope you are keeping well. I am new to your site and already enjoying it. Would you know please how much approx. tamarind paste does the recipe need if using 1.5 kg of beef?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Hi Claudine, since the recipe uses 500g of beef, you can triple the amount of the recipe. Feel free to adjust the automated counter above to 18 portions and the recipe will be updated accordingly.

Claudine Moloney
4 years ago

Claudine Moloney

Thank you for coming back to me Mira. I did make the rendang and it was fabulous!

Daniel
5 years ago

Daniel

Hey, thanks a lot of the recipe. Quite different Rendang then the recipe I had, the one I usually makes includes Star Anise, Cardamon, Turmeric root, kerisik, candlenuts and cloves. Any idea which area that would be from?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Traditional Minang or Indonesian Rendang don't contain candlenuts. Cardamon on the other hand is more common in Rendang Tok from Perak, Malaysia. So that's tough to identify. You might want to refer to your source. ;)

Earl
5 years ago

Earl

This Ultimate Guide is very helpful to many. However readers may be interested in using one of the multi-use pressure cookers which have gained popularity. Do you have any tips in adapting this recipe to these pressure cookers. I have been using one when for cooking beef stews, chilis, and braising of lamb shanks with a lot of success. Sometimes i just pressure cook the beef or lamb to beef or lamb for just 15 -20 minutes then finish in a more traditional way.

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

With a pressure cooker, start off with the traditional steps to sauté the ingredients. Once you reach step 4, cook it over high pressure for 20-30 minutes. Have fun cooking!

Earl
5 years ago

Earl

Have you tried to see what difference would be doing pressure cooking at step 3 instead of step 4?

Mira - Community Happiness Manager
5 years ago

Mira - Community Happiness Manager

Haven't tried it because it's very critical for the paste to be sautéed in oil until the oil separates from the paste. Otherwise, the paste will have a raw aftertaste.

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