Rendang is made from beef or water buffalo meat slowly cooked in coconut milk and spices. Thick coconut milk used in cooking produces delicious spicy condiments which is more delicious than the meat itself.

Ingredients

1 kg beef cut into big cubes to make 20 pieces
4 lime leaves
1 stalk lemongrass
2 liter ready-to-use coconut milk or coconut milk from 1 big fresh coconut

Spice paste, using food processor grind the following ingredients:

2 cloves garlic
4 shallot
25 g ginger
15 g turmeric
75 g young galangal
1 tbl. ground fresh red chili pepper
1 tsp. pepper
1/2 dried nutmeg
2 candlenut
1/2 tbl. salt
1 tbs. Gula Jawa (Indonesian Palm Sugar)

Directions

• Marinate meat with the spice paste for at least 1 hour.
• In a pan, stir occasionally while cooking coconut milk over slow fire until some oil surfaces from the coconut milk (at least for 20 minutes).
• Put 300 cc of coconut milk to cover the marinated meat and all the spices (including lime leaves and lemon grass) in a big wok (the bigger the better) and cook over slow to medium fire while occasionally stir the ingredients until half of the coconut milk is evaporated.
• Pour 100 cc of coconut milk and stir until almost all of the coconut milk is evaporated.
• Keep on stirring and pouring the rest of the coconut milk, 100 cc at a time.
• Cook for until the meat is tender (at least one and a half hour) and almost all the liquid from the coconut milk is evaporated and turned into spicy condiments.

Notes, tips and variations

• When cooled, the coconut oil in the rendang may solidify. Reheat in a pan before serving. A reheated rendang often has better flavor.
• Fresh coconut milk produces a better gravy.
• Chicken or mutton can be used in place of beef.
• Beef liver may be used but produces a darker gravy.