Beef Rendang
By Andrea GearyPublished on February 5, 2024
Time
3 hours
Yield
Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Lemongrass, galangal, and makrut lime leaves can be found at well-stocked supermarkets or an Asian market that carries Thai ingredients; they freeze well. Use full-fat coconut milk; we like Aroy-D. The richness of the dish dulls the heat, but if you're sensitive to spice, seed the chiles and use only five. As long as the galangal and ginger are thoroughly washed, there's no need to peel them. A wooden spoon with a flat edge is ideal for scraping the pot in step 3. Balance the richness of this dish with steamed rice; fresh, juicy raw vegetables such as sliced cucumber and tomato wedges spritzed with lemon juice; sambal; and prawn crackers.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Process shallots, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, Thai chiles, garlic, lime leaves, coriander, salt, cumin, and turmeric in food processor until coarse paste forms, about 90 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer paste to Dutch oven. Stir in ½ can of coconut milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until excess liquid evaporates and paste begins to stick to pot, 8 to 12 minutes.
- Stir in remaining 1½ cans coconut milk and beef, scraping up any brown bits on bottom of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to boil, stirring frequently. Transfer, uncovered, to oven and cook for 1 hour. Stir and continue to cook until meat is just tender, 1 to 1¼ hours longer.
- Transfer pot to stovetop and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot with wooden spoon, until all liquid has evaporated and meat and aromatics are sizzling in remaining fat, 10 to 15 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring and scraping constantly, until meat and aromatics are deep brown, about 5 minutes (it's OK if some meat begins to shred). Remove from heat. Spread meat over bottom of pot and let sit for 5 minutes to allow fond to loosen.
- Stir meat, scraping remaining brown bits from bottom and sides of pot. Transfer to serving bowl. Sprinkle with extra sliced lime leaf and Thai chile and serve with rice.
Time
3 hoursYield
Serves 6 to 8Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
Rendang, an Indonesian word, refers both to the iconic West Sumatran dish and the cooking technique where food is braised until ultraconcentrated. Making it involves simmering chunks of protein (usually beef or buffalo) with coconut milk and a deeply fragrant aromatic paste until the meat softens, the milk evaporates, and the meat and aromatics sizzle in the flavorsome fat left behind. We made short work of the paste by grinding the aromatics, citrusy herbs, and earthy spices in the food processor. Cooking down the paste with a portion of the coconut milk preemptively removed some excess water, which saved time later in the braising process. After adding the beef and the remainder of the coconut milk to the pot and bringing everything to a simmer, we transferred the pot to the oven, uncovered—an unconventional step that allowed it to cook unattended. When the beef was tender and most of the moisture had evaporated, we finished the rendang on the stove, stirring the meat and scraping the pot as everything caramelized in the rendered coconut oil. Resting the meat in the pot for 5 minutes loosened the caramelized crust, producing more flavor and making the pot easier to clean.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
Lemongrass, galangal, and makrut lime leaves can be found at well-stocked supermarkets or an Asian market that carries Thai ingredients; they freeze well. Use full-fat coconut milk; we like Aroy-D. The richness of the dish dulls the heat, but if you're sensitive to spice, seed the chiles and use only five. As long as the galangal and ginger are thoroughly washed, there's no need to peel them. A wooden spoon with a flat edge is ideal for scraping the pot in step 3. Balance the richness of this dish with steamed rice; fresh, juicy raw vegetables such as sliced cucumber and tomato wedges spritzed with lemon juice; sambal; and prawn crackers.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Process shallots, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, Thai chiles, garlic, lime leaves, coriander, salt, cumin, and turmeric in food processor until coarse paste forms, about 90 seconds, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer paste to Dutch oven. Stir in ½ can of coconut milk. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until excess liquid evaporates and paste begins to stick to pot, 8 to 12 minutes.
- Stir in remaining 1½ cans coconut milk and beef, scraping up any brown bits on bottom of pot. Increase heat to high and bring to boil, stirring frequently. Transfer, uncovered, to oven and cook for 1 hour. Stir and continue to cook until meat is just tender, 1 to 1¼ hours longer.
- Transfer pot to stovetop and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently and scraping bottom and sides of pot with wooden spoon, until all liquid has evaporated and meat and aromatics are sizzling in remaining fat, 10 to 15 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring and scraping constantly, until meat and aromatics are deep brown, about 5 minutes (it's OK if some meat begins to shred). Remove from heat. Spread meat over bottom of pot and let sit for 5 minutes to allow fond to loosen.
- Stir meat, scraping remaining brown bits from bottom and sides of pot. Transfer to serving bowl. Sprinkle with extra sliced lime leaf and Thai chile and serve with rice.
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