Beef Rendang - Beef Week # 2

Dish done in March 2011

There are many versions of beef rendang. Somehow, I have a certain fondness for the one that is made with  local ingredients that is with lots of roots and bulbs and without dried aromatic spices.

There's a nasi lemak shop nearby and my husband and I adore their rendang. It's fragrant but not spicy, aromatic and with a sweeter end. It doesn't have that spice taste that is almost like a dry Indian curry. It just taste wonderfully aromatic. Their rendang is tender and doesn't need much chewing... melts in the mouth : )

I went scouting around for THE recipe and when I chanced upon this recipe by Hanieliza. It looked almost like that we have here, except it's bigger in size. And the sound of the recipe, yes, it should be the one!

Does it taste like the one I ate at the nasi lemak stall??
Yeessssssss! And my hubby super loves this.

Actually I cooked this rendang for the 3rd time for the CNY bloggers potluck this year and to their surprise it was very tender. *Ahem*. And I used buffalo meat, Indian frozen buffalo meat that sells for RM14/kg at Tesco. Cheap stuff. Don't need no Aussie prime cut. The secret is the marinating and the long hours of simmering. No meat will remain tough with all those gingers.

Beef Rendang

Recipe by: WendyinKK
Adapted from Hanieliza

+/-1kg beef
50gm peeled ginger
40gm peeled galangal
30gm peeled turmeric
4 lemongrass (5 inches from the base), weighing 40gm in total

Grind the above aromatics and mix with the beef. Set aside while you do the rest. The ginger will soften the beef so that cooking time can be reduced.


10 dried chillies
10 shallots (100gm peeled weight)
3 cloves garlic

Snip dried chillies and rub them to remove seeds. Soak in water to soften. Peel shallots and garlic. Grind everything together to form a fine paste (Can add some water, no problem)


3 large turmeric leaves, rolled and snipped
150gm freshly grated coconut (half a coconut), toasted on a pan until golden
1 cup thick coconut milk
Salt to taste
40gm Palm sugar, depending on taste (hubby preferred it to be sweeter and the 2nd time I made this, I put in 60gm and he liked it)

To cook, just combine everything together except salt and sugar, add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and turn to low heat. Simmer for 2-3 hours or until softened. Put in palm sugar and salt and reduce gravy until desired thickness.

*Beef rendang tastes better after being aged for a few days, so if you can, cook this few days ahead before intended serving time, chill in the fridge and reheat it to serve. And the good thing is, you can cook a large portion and separate it for a few meals. Isn’t that fantastic!

If you don't cook beef at home, You can use pork loin to mimic the effect. You may not need the same amount of sugar if you're using pork. Use less water and 1-1.5 hours of cooking should be enough, without marinating with the ginger paste.