Beef Rendang

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg beef chuck or shin, in large cubes
• 2 tins of coconut milk
• 8 shallots
• 6 garlic cloves
• 30 g ginger
• 30 g galangal
• 8 dried or fresh red chillies
• 3 lemongrass stalks, bruised
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 60 g desiccated coconut
• 30 g palm sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 1/2 tsp turmeric

Method

1. Make the rempah

   Blend the shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, chillies and turmeric into a smooth paste with a splash of water. This spice paste is the foundation and it wants to be genuinely smooth, not chunky.

2. Toast the coconut

   Dry-fry the desiccated coconut over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until deep golden brown, then grind it. Kerisik, as it is called, thickens the sauce and adds a nutty depth nothing else provides. It burns in seconds once it colours.

   8 min

3. Start the long cook

   Fry the paste in a heavy pan until it darkens and the oil separates, then add the beef, coconut milk, lemongrass and lime leaves. Bring to the barest simmer, uncovered.

   10 min

4. Reduce, do not stew

   Add the palm sugar and tamarind and cook uncovered for two and a half hours, stirring occasionally. Rendang is a dry curry — the point is that the liquid evaporates entirely, and covering the pan defeats the whole dish.

   2 h 30 min

5. Fry in its own oil

   Once the sauce has reduced to a thick paste clinging to the meat, stir in the toasted coconut and keep going. The coconut oil separates out and the beef begins to fry in it, turning dark brown. This last 20 minutes is where rendang actually happens.

   20 min

6. Rest

   Take it off the heat and let it sit. It keeps a week in the fridge and is unarguably better on the second or third day.