Beef Rendang

5 from 6 votes

Experience the best beef rendang you'll ever taste with this authentic recipe. This rich Asian-style beef stew is infused with a blend of spices, herbs, and creamy coconut milk. Surprisingly, it's easier to make than you might think.

Prep Time30

Cook Time2 10

Servings: people

Author: Bea & Marco

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 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 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.

Nutrition