Beef Rendang Recipe

also see: http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=199

Ingredients

• 100g (1 cup) freshly grated coconut or 3/4 cup (60g) dried unsweetened coconut
• 12-15 dried chillies, cut into lengths and deseeded
• 15 shallots, peeled
• 2cm fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
• 2cm fresh galangal root, peeled and sliced
• 3 stalks lemongrass, thick bottom third only, outer layers discarded, inner part sliced
• 1cm fresh turmeric root, peeled and sliced, or 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (see Spices)
• 1kg topside or stewing beef, cut into bite-sized pieces (if you plan to simmer longer, use bigger pieces)
• 625ml thick coconut milk
• 250ml water
• 3 tablespoons tamarind juice
• 1 turmeric leaf, torn (optional)
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, torn
• 2 teaspoons sugar (try brown sugar)
• 1-2 teaspoons salt (can substitute with light soy sauce)

(extra stuff)

• 1 tbsp ground fennel powder (see Spices)
• 1 tbsp ground cumin powder (see Spices)

Method:

1. Dry-fry the grated coconut over low heat in a wok until golden brown, about 10 minutes for the fresh coconut and 5 to 7 minutes for the dried coconut. Allow to cool slightly, then grind the coconut in a mortar or blender to a powder. Set aside.
2. Soak the dried chillies in warm water for 10 to 15 minutes to soften. Then deseed and drain. Grind the chillies, shallots, ginger, galangal, lemongrass and turmeric to a smooth paste in a mortar or blender, adding a little coconut milk if necessary to keep the blades turning. (I added the fennel and cumin at this stage also.)
3. Place the beef together with the ground paste, coconut milk and water in a wok and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until beef is tender, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Add a little water if the sauce threatens to dry out before the beef is cooked. By this time, the liquid would have mostly evaporated and the coconut oil should be visible.
4. Add the ground coconut, tamarind juice, turmeric leaf, kaffir lime leaves, sugar and salt, and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Serve with rice. This dish is actually best the next day after the spices have set.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 40 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour 25 mins

Notes:

The mixture in step 3 took a very long time to dry out, nearly an entire day. I think its because of the high water content of the shallots, so the next time I cook this I'll probably fry the ground paste by itself first to dry it out a bit before adding in the coconut milk and the beef. In any case its probably better to simmer for a longer while for tenderness.

Enjoy!
Xinyu