Indonesian Beef Rendang (Rendang Sapi)

IndoFoody's Note:

Rendang Sapi is one of the most popular dishes from Padang, West Sumatra. Padang is known by their delicious meals made from coconut milk. You can make it spicy or mild, depend how you like it.I like it because the taste is really strong and aromatic. However, it takes a bit longer time to cook so that the beef will be soft and tender. But it is definately worth to try =^_^=

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 500 g beef
• 4 cups coconut milk (made from 1 coconut if using freshly granted coconut)
• 2 bay leaves (Indonesian usually use Salam leaves)
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 3 cardamom pods , bruised
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 2 fresh turmeric , leaves (optional)
• 4 cm cinnamon sticks
• 4 red chilies , sliced (you can add more if you wish)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar or ½ teaspoon brown sugar
• 8 shallots , peeled and sliced
• 6 garlic cloves , peeled and sliced
• 3 cm ginger
• 3 cm galangal , peeled and sliced (laos)
• ½ teaspoon black peppercorns , crushed
• 2 cm turmeric

Directions:

1. Grind or blend shallot, garlic, ginger, galangal, peppercorn and turmeric into paste.
2. Cut the beef into small but thick slices square.
3. Put the beef, spice paste and all other ingredients into a wok and bring slowly to the boil, stirring constantly to prevent the coconut milk from separating. Cook over low heat, stirring from time to time, until the meat is very tender and all the sauce has evaporated.
4. Continue cooking the beef, which will fry in the oil that has come out from the coconut milk, until brown.
5. Serve with warm Basmati or Jasmine plain rice.

Reviews

[RotiJala]

Wonderful! Sounds very much like the Malaysian Rendang except that the Malaysian one has added dry-fried grated coconut towards the end of cooking time. I do wonder what the Salam leaves are, though. Tip for those trying it for the first time: If the Rendang gets dry before the beef is tender, just add a bit of water. (You can also reduce the amount of coconut milk if it's too 'strong' for you.)