Straight from the butcher to the kitchen... Beef Rendang!
if you missed out on this dish during Raya, we gotchu!
This Eid, try adding this beef shin (aka daging jelly) to spice up your rendang!
This cut of beef has a mosaic of plentiful connective tissue which melts into a soft, gelatinous texture when cooked long and slow. Meticulously slow-cooked over a hot stove, this aromatic stew and tender beef is TO DIE FOR.
Though not traditional, our Gen Z butcher attests that this cut, along with a myriad of spices and coconut milk, is the BEST to use for Rendang so you should try it too!
We used Cosmic Cookware’s Cosmo Wok in green and Cosmo Fry 28” in cream in this recipe! Shop Cosmic Cookware here.
Ultimate Beef Rendang Recipe
ingredients:
1 kg beef (any tough cut is best including shin, brisket, chuck tender, short ribs, cheeks and oyster blade), cubed
we got ours from Nazneen Meat House!1 litre fresh coconut milk
rempah:
200g red chillies, stems removed
150g shallots, peeled
35g garlic, peeled
30g ginger, peeled
50 g galangal, peeled
5 candlenuts, soaked in hot water and drained
herbs:
4 daun salam (indonesian bay leaf)
8 kaffir lime leaves, torn
3 sticks lemongrass, bruised
dry spices:
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp green cardamom
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cloves
1 tbsp white peppercorns
To finish:
3 tbsp gula melaka OR brown sugar
1 tbsp kerisik (caramelised toasted coconut)
Salt, to taste
5 lime leaves, sliced to thin needle-like strands
½ a nutmeg, grated
method:
Lightly toast the dry spices in a pan on low flame until fragrant and dry. Cool down and grind into a fine powder (with a mortar or spice grinder)
Purée all the rempah ingredients into a paste, adding as little water needed.
In a large pot, bring coconut milk to a rolling boil and boil for 5 minutes.
Add the rempah paste. Mix well. Turn down heat and let simmer until droplets of oil starts to separate from the coconut milk.
Add the beef and dry spice powder and salt and toss it well to coat the beef.
Cover pot with lid and let the beef simmer gently for 30 minutes. Then, add in the herbs and cover again, leaving an opening for some steam to escape.
Cook for 1 hour or until beef is 90% done and tender but not falling apart (this depends on the cut of beef). Stir from time to time to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot.
Remove the lid and let the gravy reduce to an intensely rich brown colour while stirring every 5 mins. The sauce should be thick with most of the oil split from it. Grate in nutmeg and stir to combine.
Add sugar, kerisik and season to taste. Serve onto plate, garnished with lime leaf strands.
Enjoy!