Experience the best beef rendang you'll ever taste with this authentic recipe. This rich Asian-style beef stew is infused with spices, herbs, and creamy coconut milk. Surprisingly, it's easier to make than you might think.
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What Is Beef Rendang
Beef rendang originated in Indonesia and is also very famous in Malaysia. It's a variety of dry curry! It can be chicken rendang, shrimp rendang, clams rendang, and even fish rendang. Yes! I've eaten them all, and they're fantastic!
Beef rendang is slow-cooked on the stove in an aromatic paste that includes lemongrass, galangal, other herbs and spices, and coconut milk. The flavorful sauce reduces into a darker color and coats the super-tender meat. The meat is caramelized incredibly.
Why This Recipe Works
Being a Malay and Malaysian, I've eaten rendang daging (beef) my whole life, and its delicious layers of flavors are so integrated into me. It's a must-have during our family's Eid al-Fitr (Aidilfitri), but we make it throughout the year. This is why, biasedly, it's the best beef rendang recipe!
Family recipe-This is more towards Malay beef rendang. It's our family recipe with minor adjustments, making it easier to make and not super spicy for you. We love spicy in our family, and another favorite of ours is spicy nasi goreng kampung!
Authentic-This is how a rendang should taste: rich with a balance of spicy and savory notes and a hint of sweet and sour. The meat should be very tender, melting to the touch. Follow my tips and instructions, and you'll have an authentic Malaysian beef rendang to impress your guests. I'll show you the easiest way to prepare this fantastic rendang curry.
I've also developed the slow cooker version! Make my slow cooker beef rendang or my slow cooker chicken rendang. They're out of this world!
Ingredients For This Recipe
Beef-Use beef for stew or slow cooking. Chuck is the best for this rendang and my delicious beef korma. I've also made this using beef cheeks, and they were great. Don't use lean beef cuts. Find the cuts with some fats marbled in the meat.
Dried chilies-They're for the heat. Use long red chilies, Thai chilies, or birds-eye chilies, and adjust the amount to your level of spiciness (or omit it). My mother loved to use lots of Thai chilies!
Lemongrass-Adds a citrusy layer that balances this beef rendang. I also use it my quick curry laksa, Malaysian chicken satay, and chicken turmeric noodle soup, which is delicious! Peel the woody outer layer, use only the white part, and discard the green part.
Tamarind-It's a common ingredient in Southeast Asian countries. I use concentrated cooking tamarind that comes as a thick liquid, almost like heavy cream. You can add a squeeze of lime or lemon at the end if you can't find it. It's also an essential ingredient in my fantastic laksa Penang recipe, Malaysian satay sauce, and easy Pad Thai!
Kaffir lime leaves-Enforces the touch of citrus and helps balance this decadent dish. Fresh or frozen ones work great. My mother also used 3-4 turmeric leaves. Although it won't taste the same, you could add the zest of 2-3 limes.
⭐ See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Prepare the chilies. Using scissors, cut the dried chilies into small pieces, removing the seeds. Place in a bowl and cover with hot water. Soak for 30 minutes until they're softened.
2. Make beef rendang paste. Add drained soaked chilies, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, onion, and a splash of water into a food processor bowl and blend into a fine paste.
3. Cook the paste. Heat some oil in a pot on medium heat and cook the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom pods, star anise, bruised lemongrass, and rendang paste for 10-15 minutes until it thickens or the wetness has significantly reduced.
4. Add in beef. Stir in the beef chunks and coat every piece with the aromatic paste.
5. Add in the rest. Pour in the coconut milk together with kaffir lime leaves, coconut sugar, tamarind, and salt, and mix well.
6. Slow cook. Bring to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 1 hour or until the meat is soft to the touch. Remove the lid and continue cooking until the sauce dries up and the meat is tender. Enjoy!
Recipe Expert Tips
- Use the proper beef cut. Don't use lean meat. Use meat for stew or slow cooking with marbled fats, like a chuck of beef cheeks. They make super tender rendang. Yum!
- Don't cut the beef too small. We don't want the meat to disintegrate and disappear into the sauce during the slow cooking. 2-inch cubes are perfect. Buy a huge piece of meat and cut it yourself.
- Use a small food processor. A smaller bowl allows you to blend the sturdier ingredients, like lemongrass and galangal, better. You'll get a fine paste faster and easier.
- Stir now and then. This is a dry curry. Stir now and then to prevent the sauce from getting stuck at the bottom of the pot.
- Use a splatter guard. Trust me, it'll be less messy when you cook the paste, especially when reducing the sauce.
- Avoid disintegrated beef. If the meat is already super tender and the sauce is still not dry, remove the meat onto a plate. Continue cooking until the sauce is significantly reduced. Then gently stir in back the meat.
- It tastes better the next day. Make this rendang one day ahead, but don't let the sauce dry too much. On the day of, cook until the sauce is dry. This is to avoid the meat breaking into smaller pieces during reheating and stirring. Our slow cooker Spanish oxtail stew (rabo de toro) also tastes fantastic the day after!
What To Serve Rendang With
Uff, lots! During Eid al-Fitr, we always eat this rendang with lemang. Lemang is glutinous rice cooked with coconut milk inside a bamboo trunk on the grill.
Since living in Spain, I have prepared my steamed turmeric glutinous rice instead because it's easier. Believe it or not, this beef rendang is also excellent with our parmesan Duchess potatoes and our Asian cucumber and pineapple salad. Don't knock it until you try it!
Any type of rice is excellent! Or any bread that can soak up the thick sauce and tender meat, like my roti jala net pancake or my delicious roti canai paratha flatbread.
How To Store
Fridge - In an air-tight container, in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Freezer - In an air-tight container, in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge. Reheat in the microwave or using low heat on the stove (add a splash of water so the rendang doesn't get too dry).
Recipe FAQs
I've used beef chucks and beef cheeks, which were amazing! Use stew or slow-cooking meat with some fat marbled in it. That's going to guarantee super tender meat. Don't use lean meat.
Rendang is originally from Indonesia and is famous in neighboring countries, including Malaysia. I've adapted it to my Malaysian family's way of cooking.
Rendang is a dry curry where the sauce is reduced significantly. The sauce coats and flavors the super-tender meat so deliciously.
Related Curry Recipes
If you tried this Beef Rendang or any other recipe on our website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let us know how it went in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
Beef Rendang
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Ingredients
Beef Rendang Paste
- 25 dried chilies
- 6 lemongrass (white part only) , sliced
- 2 inch galangal , sliced
- 2 inch ginger , sliced
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 onion , cubed
Spices
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- 4 cloves
- 4 cardamom pods
- 1 lemongrass , bruised
Main
- 2.2 lb (1 kg) beef chuck , cut into 2-inch cubes
- 10 kaffir lime leaves , thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoon coconut sugar
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon concentrated cooking tamarind
- 1 can (400 ml) coconut milk , of 14 oz
Instructions
Prepare the chilies
- Cut the dried chilies into small pieces to remove the seeds. Soak in a bowl with some boiling water for 30 minutes until softened. Drain.
Beef Rendang Paste
- In a small processor, blend softened chilies, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, garlic, and onion into a fine paste. Add a splash of water to help the process.
Cook
- Heat some oil on medium heat and add in cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, cardamom pods, bruised lemongrass, and beef rendang paste.
- Cook for 10-15 minutes or until the paste thickened or the wetness has reduced significantly. Always remember to stir now and then when cooking so that nothing sticks at the bottom.
- Add in the beef pieces and coat them evenly with the paste. Stir in kaffir lime leaves, coconut sugar, salt, tamarind, and coconut milk. Simmer with the lid on for 1 hour or until the meat is soft to the touch, but not yet falling apart.
- Remove the lid and continue cooking for 30-40 minutes until the sauce reduces (or when the oil separates) and the meat is super tender. At this stage, stir frequently but gently.
- If the meat is already super tender but there's still lots of sauce, remove the meat onto a plate. Continue cooking until the sauce is reduced and then gently stir in the meat. Enjoy!
Notes
- To avoid anything sticking to the bottom of the pan, stir now and then at the beginning. And more frequently but gently as the sauce reduces. This is to avoid the meat getting broken into lots of small pieces.
- Use a splatter guard when cooking the paste and reducing the sauce, since it will splatter a lot during these two times.
Originally published on Aug 16, 2017. Updated with improved text, recipe, and pictures on Apr 14, 2023. Updated with improved text on Mar 13, 2024.
Ary Neele says
I loved this! Is it possible to make the original recipe (I can get all the ingredients) but cook it in a slowcooker? Maybe removing the meat and thickening the saus after in a separate pan after slowcooking it?
Bea & Marco says
Hi, Ary! I have a slow cooker rendang recipe, if you'd wanna give it a go. The method is different but it tastes equally delicious. It uses less coconut milk and I thicken it with a bit of corn starch. Hope it helps!
Elly Scotte says
I have tried several rendang recipes but yours is the one that my family loves the most. I have saved it for future use.
I didn't have tamarind so I squeezed in some lime juice.
Next time I will look for tamarind and use it.
Thanks for your delicious recipe.
Bea & Marco says
Yes, lime or lemon juice works fine, it's to give a touch of acidity and balance the whole rich flavors. I'm happy to hear that everybody loved it, Elly. Thank you!
Jean and Paul says
We love asian food. we visited Malaysia two years ago and we have been missing the amazing food there.
we found your website when looking for rendang recipe. we made it.
we loved it!!!
thank you so much for sharing it. we're eager to try more of your recipes.
Bea & Marco says
Oh wow! I'm happy to hear that! I miss the food also, so I know the feeling 😁. I've been making rendang myself ever since I'm living in Spain (it's been 14 years!) and it reminds me of home. I'm glad that you guys loved it as much as I do. Thanks, Jean and Paul! And yes, do check out more Malaysian recipes here!
Anuar says
Thanks for this recipe!!
It helped me and my friends to make rendang!
We're celebrating Raya abroad and feel lucky to find this recipe.
We put more cili we like very spicy!!
Bea & Marco says
Awesome! I'm glad that this recipe was a help to you guys. My mother used cili api, that's how spicy she liked it. Haha! Thanks, Anuar!