Tremendous Beef Rendang
Prep
30m
Cook
180m
Total
210m
Bigly says
Listen to me. We need to talk about rendang. Beef rendang. The Indonesian masterpiece, the SLOW-COOKED triumph, the dish that takes a tough cut of beef and a coconut and a small forest's worth of spices and turns it, over the course of an afternoon, into one of the greatest things ever cooked in any kitchen anywhere on the surface of the planet. I am not exaggerating. The food writers have voted. The lists have been made. Rendang has won. Game over.
Many people don't know this — and it is a shame, an absolute shame — but rendang is not a curry. It is not a stew. It is a SLOW REDUCTION. You start with a pot of coconut milk and spice paste and beef, and you stand at the stove, and you stir, and you stir, and you stir, and over the course of two to three hours the liquid evaporates, the coconut oil breaks out, the meat absorbs everything, and at the end you are left with beef that is dark and dry-ish and CRUSTED with toasted spices, like nothing else in cooking. Other so-called rendang recipes tell you to simmer it for 45 minutes and call it done. A disgrace. A disgrace to Sumatra. A disgrace to the cow. Don't be a coward. Stand at the stove. Stir. The reduction is the WHOLE POINT.
Mine is TREMENDOUS. The spice paste is fresh — galangal, lemongrass, chilies, ginger, shallots, the whole orchestra — and I'm not going to lie to you, it takes some shopping. You'll be standing in front of the galangal at the Asian grocery and you'll say, 'Bigly, this looks like ginger that hit the gym.' And I'll tell you, yes, that's exactly what it is, do not substitute, the ginger and the galangal are different instruments. The smart-people gambit applies here — I had a food scientist explain the flavor compounds to me for ninety minutes, totally worth it — and the upshot is, you need both. Trust me.
Ingredients
- 3 lbboneless beef chuck or brisket, cut into 1.5-inch cubes
- 3 cans (13.5 oz each)full-fat coconut milk
- 6kaffir lime leaves(fresh or frozen — dried is a pale imitation)
- 3lemongrass stalks, bruised and tied into knots
- 1cinnamon stick
- 2 podsstar anise
- 4whole cloves
- 1 tbsptamarind paste
- 1 tbsppalm sugar or dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp, plus more to tastekosher salt
- 1/3 cuptoasted unsweetened coconut flakes, ground(the kerisik — toast the flakes in a dry pan until golden, then grind)
- 10 smallshallots, peeled
- 8garlic cloves, peeled
- 2-inch piecefresh galangal, peeled and sliced(not ginger — they are different, the food chemists agree)
- 1.5-inch piecefresh ginger, peeled and sliced
- 6fresh red chilies (Fresno or red Holland)(seeded for medium heat, left in for serious heat)
- 4dried red chilies, soaked in hot water(for color and depth)
- 1 tspground turmeric
- 1 tspground coriander
Steps
- 1
Make the spice paste: combine the shallots, garlic, galangal, ginger, fresh chilies, drained dried chilies, turmeric, and coriander in a food processor with 2-3 tbsp water. Blend to a smooth paste.
- 2
Heat a large heavy Dutch oven or wok over medium heat. Scoop about 1/2 cup of the thick top layer of coconut milk into the pot and let it sizzle until the oil separates, about 3-4 minutes.
- 3
Add the spice paste and fry, stirring constantly, for 6-8 minutes until deeply fragrant and the raw smell is gone.
- 4
Add the cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, lemongrass knots, and kaffir lime leaves. Stir for 1 minute.
- 5
Add the beef cubes and toss to coat in the paste.
- 6
Pour in the remaining coconut milk, the salt, palm sugar, and tamarind paste. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- 7
Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat, stirring every 10-15 minutes to prevent sticking, for the first hour. The mixture will be soupy and light brown.
- 8
After the first hour, stir more frequently, every 5-7 minutes, as the liquid reduces and thickens.
- 9
Around the 90-minute mark, stir in the ground toasted coconut (kerisik).
- 10
Continue cooking and stirring as the sauce reduces, darkens, and the oil starts to separate. This will take another 60-90 minutes. The beef will become very tender and the sauce will become a dark, thick coating.
- 11
When the rendang is dark mahogany brown, almost dry, and the oil pools at the edges, taste and adjust salt. The beef should be fork-tender.
- 12
Remove the cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, lemongrass, and lime leaves. Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice and a wedge of cucumber.
One more thing
Three hours later — and yes, it took three hours, and yes, every minute was worth it — you have rendang. Real rendang. Dark, glossy, almost dry, beef so tender it falls apart with a spoon, spices so deep you'll be tasting them tomorrow morning. Spoon it over jasmine rice. Eat it with your eyes closed for the first bite. And anyone who asks if they can just make it in an hour and a half? Send them away. Politely. Tremendous.
★ QUESTIONS ABOUT THIS ONE? ★
Ask Bigly about Tremendous Beef Rendang.
Substitutions, what to serve it with, why other chefs are wrong about it. He's got opinions.
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