The KING OF ALL CURRIES is here!!! Beef Rendang has incredible depth of flavour, with complexity and many layers of spices. It’s straight forward to make, though it does take time and perhaps a trip to the Asian grocery store (though Sydney-siders will find everything at Woolies). Watch the video and drool!
Beef Rendang
This Beef Rendang recipe is from a payroll lady at a company I used to work for. It’s her Malaysian mother’s recipe. I still remember, so many years later, how we used to bond over food at the water cooler!
I actually first published this recipe a couple of years ago but I’ve made some minor improvements that will make your life easier without changing the flavour at all. Plus I made a recipe video!
Beef Rendang is the king of all curries!
What is Beef Rendang?
Beef Rendang is a Malaysian curry and is considered by many to be the king of all curries! To say it’s extravagantly delicious is an understatement. There are very few curries in this world with such amazingly complex flavours.
Originally from Indonesia though now more well known as a Malaysia curry, the sauce is made with aromatic spices like cinnamon, cardamom and star anise as well as fresh aromatics including lemongrass, garlic, ginger and galangal.
Unlike many curries, Beef Rendang is a dry curry which means there is not loads of sauce. However, the meat is so ridiculously tender and has a thick coating of sauce on each piece, so when the meat literally falls apart at a touch, it mixes through rice, flavouring it like saucy curries.
If you love South East Asian curries, Beef Rendang is without a doubt one of the best!
Here in Sydney, you can get all the ingredients for Beef Rendang at Woolworths and Coles. Seriously!
How to make Beef Rendang
Though there’s a fair few ingredients in this, some of which may not be familiar to you and are certainly not everyday ingredients even in my world, it’s actually quite a straightforward recipe:
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Blitz curry paste ingredient in food processor;
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Brown the beef;
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Cook off the curry paste – releases amazing flavour!
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Add everything else in and slow cook until the beef is ultra tender.
An interesting cooking method with Beef Rendang is the way it gets the deep brown colour. All throughout the video, right up until the very end, you will notice that the sauce is a pale brown colour. It’s not until the very end when the sauce reduces right down and the oil separates that it turns brown, essentially the browning of the beef in the oil of the sauce.
This Beef Rendang can be made in a slow cooker, but I find it easiest to make it all on the stove. Especially given it starts on the stove with the browning of the beef and spice paste, then finishes on the stove with the reducing of the sauce and browning of the beef (this part cannot be done in a slow cooker).
This is one of those recipes that just gets better with time. So whenever possible, I try to make this a day or two in advance. It also freezes extremely well.
I serve this with my Restaurant Style Coconut Rice because it’s my copycat of the coconut rice you get at the posh modern Asian restaurants! – Nagi xx
PS You see those bits stuck on the beef that could be shredded coconut?? It’s not. It’s bits of shredded BEEF. Because it’s so tender by the end, when you’re stirring it, some bits do flake off. YUM!
MORE GREAT CURRIES OF THE WORLD!
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Biryani (it’s amazing!)
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Dal (Indian lentil curry)
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Browse the Curry Collection
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Beef Rendang recipe video!
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Beef Rendang
Ingredients
Spice Paste
- 12 dried chilies, rehydrated in boiling water, or 12 large fresh (Note 1a)
- 1 small onion, finely chopped (Note 1b)
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 lemongrass stalks, white part only, sliced (Note 2)
- 1 1/2 tbsp fresh galangal, finely chopped (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
- 2 tbsp oil (vegetable, canola or peanut oil)
Curry
- 2 lb/ 1 kg chuck steak, or other slow cooking beef, cut into 4cm / 1.6" cubes (Note 4)
- 1 tbsp oil (vegetable, peanut, canola)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/4 tsp clove powder
- 3 star anise
- 1/2 tsp cardamon powder
- 1 lemongrass stick, bottom half of the stick only and smashed (Note 5)
- 400ml / 14 oz coconut milk (1 standard can)
- 2 tsp tamarind puree / paste, or tamarind pulp soaked in 1 tbsp of hot water, seeds removed (Note 6)
- 4 large kaffir lime leaves (or 6 small) , very finely sliced (Note 7)
- 1/3 cup desiccated coconut (finely shredded coconut)
- 1 tbsp brown sugar or grated palm sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Place Spice Paste ingredients in a small food processor and whizz until fine. NOTE: If using dried chilli and you know your food processor is not that powerful, chop the chilli first.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy based pot over high heat. Add half the beef and brown, then remove onto plate. Repeat with remaining beef.
- Lower heat to medium low. Add Spice Paste and cook for 2 - 3 minutes until the wetness has reduced and the spice paste darkens (don't breathe in too much, the chilli will make you cough!).
- Add remaining Curry ingredients and beef. Stir to combine.
- Bring to simmer, then immediately turn down the heat to low or medium low so the sauce is bubbling very gently.
- Put the lid on the pot and leave it to simmer for 1 hr 15 minutes.
- Remove lid and check the beef to see how tender it is. You don't want it to be "fall apart at a touch" at this stage, but it should be quite tender. If it is fall apart already, remove the beef from the pot before proceeding.
- Turn up heat to medium and reduce sauce for 30 - 40 minutes, stirring every now and then at first, then frequently towards the end until the beef browns and the sauce reduces to a paste that coats the beef. (Note 9)
- The beef should now be very tender, fall apart at a touch. If not, add a splash of water and keep cooking. Remove from heat and serve with plain or Restaurant Style Coconut Rice.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
Dozer’s got a boo boo. i.e. Shredded his paw by tearing manically across a bed of oyster shells in pursuit of a pelican.
Let’s not feel too sorry for him though. He’s been pretty pampered.
Sheri says
Thank you Nagi! This recipe looks amazing!
Sorry you had a bad day! Know how you feel, I’m the queen of falling.
I take a flop every couple of months or so. Once it happened so fast, I didn’t even put my hands out and landed on my chin. But that was on ice. We have a lot in New Jersey here in the USA. Bet I’m a bigger klutz than you! LOL!
Hope Dozer feels better! Have a great weekend! : )
Nagi says
BA HA HA! Lovely to hear from a fellow klutz! We stand united! PS I would be a wreak if we had snow here.
Kay Hancock says
Will light coconut milk taste the same?
Nagi says
Hi Kay! The taste will be similar but it will not be quite as rich 🙂 Great option to reduce some calories!
Kay Hancock says
Made this today. I used 5 long chillis and it had a kick. Fried shallots and thinly sliced chillis to serve as a garnish with chopped corianderfried these during curry preparation andput them in low oven when warming platessc just before serving. Cooked in slow cooker for 4 hours ended up transferring it to a wok. In future will not bother slow cooking oven top cooking is best. The cardamon powder would be better then you don’t have to pick them out. I paid £14 for this dish recently in a restaurant and this was as nice. They served it with thin flat rice stick noodles which is an alternative to rice. I served it with plain white rice. Delicious Thankyou.
Nagi says
Hi Kay! I’m so thrilled to hear you enjoyed this! It’s funny you mention about using powder instead, it’s the annoyance I’ve always had with this recipe but having said that, the pods do provide a better flavour I find. So I’m actually experimenting with this recipe to tweak it to make using cardamon and clove powder instead 🙂 Glad you enjoyed it!
Kay Hancock says
TIP wear disposable gloves when deseeding and cutting chillis to avoid burning hands
Rich Prior says
And apparently for Nagi, anyway the gloves would help just getting out of the car! Sorry Nagi, had to zing you for that one, hope your weekend has less mishaps for you and Dozer.
Rich in Canada
Nagi says
I WISH I had rubber gloves on yesterday. 😂
Kay Hancock says
Hi what is best way to reheat it please
Nagi says
I microwave it! 🙂
Kay Hancock says
Thankyou will not have to reheat eaten between 3 hungry people today. I am going to prepare a day or two before next time. Do you reheat the whole bowl of curry in the microwave?
Nagi says
Hi Kay! That’s what I do because this curry doesn’t have sauce like other ones so I find it a bit more difficult to reheat on the stove 🙂
mel says
This sounds wonderful! Lemongrass a little hard to come by but do have lemongrass paste in the tube. Think that would work ? If so, how much?
Kay Hancock says
I paid 1.40 for 4 sticks of lemongrass from Asda the other day
Nagi says
Hi Mel! That should be ok, I would use 2 tsp in the spice mix and 1 tsp in the sauce 🙂
Lisa says
Hi,
Thank you for the recipe – it tasted amazing!
Just a quick question – is there an easy way to remove the items such as star anise and pods ect? As the leaves etc aren’t nice to eat and difficult to remove!
Thank you
Nagi says
Hi Lisa! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this! I love your question, I literally made this a week ago to try to counteract that problem myself. Stay tuned! Recipe video and extra tips to avoid that problem coming soon!
Sally says
when do you add the coconut milk? I can’t find mention of it in the instructions part of the recipe!
Sally says
oops i just realised i missed the line “add remaining ingredients” facepalm
Nagi says
Can’t tell you how many times I have those moments every single day Sally! PS And guess what, I’m actually making and filming this recipe RIGHT NOW! No joke, it’s on the stove, simmering away. Republishing soon with the video! N xx
Jeni says
I’m making tis right now my only query is how to get the beef really brown without burning the paste, should the bulk of the paste be remove while browning the meat ? I can’t wait to try it after these reviews.
Nagi says
Hi Jeni! Try turning the heat down, I know what you mean because when I made this in my cast iron pot, I had the same problem 🙂 I will repost this recipe soon with a video, it’s a personal favourite! I think a video will help with the steps. N xx
Peter says
Hi. This sounds great, Just one puzzle for me. The recipe calls for 3 star anise. Is that complete stars or 3 of the seeds? I find if I make a casserole, if I use 2 or 3 seeds they give plenty of flavour. Looking forward to making this. I am sure it will be super tasty like all of your recipes I have tried.
Nagi says
Hi Peter! I mean 3 whole star anises – you can see them in the photo. 🙂 Hope that helps! I never thought of using just the seeds??
Wendy says
I made this last night for friends using double the quantity and it was magnificent – delicious depth of flavours and wonderful easy to follow instructions. Thanks Nagi – your work is superb.
Nagi says
Wow, thanks for the compliment Wendy! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this, thank you for letting me know! N x
Darren Hughes says
Absolutely amazing recipe made it for my wife who thought it was fantastic
Nagi says
I’m so pleased to hear that Darren! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Kay says
Hi can I use tamarind paste instead of Tamarind puree. Do I use same amount please. Love your recipes
Nagi says
Hi Kay! Paste will be fine 🙂
Kay says
Hi can you make it with the boxed packaged dessicated coconut
Nagi says
Hi Kay – this recipe does call for desiccated coconut as well as milk 🙂
kay says
Hi can I use the reduced fat coconut milk. Does it taste better if you cook day before and reheat. For 2 people do I halve ingredients thanks for the recipe
Nagi says
Hi Kay! Yes it’s even better reheated! Reduced fat won’t be quite the same but it will still be delish!
Jemayma says
Hello Nagi,me again?..i forgot to get cloves yesterday,and got tons of cardamon and star anise?..do you think i can replace the cloves with any of those?(its half term break of the kids this week,so my families and friends coming this weekend for this)?…hope to hear from you soon xxx
Nagi says
Hi Jemayma! I think if you add a little bit more cardamon it will sort of make up for it! Don’t worry, it will still be yum, promise 🙂
Jemayma says
Hello Nagi,this recipe was incredible. The mat was so tender and ummmmm yum,really yum. Every enjoyed it. Definitely gonna cook again this soon.. thanks again xxx
Nagi says
Fantastic to hear Jemayma! So glad you enjoyed it! N xx
Chris says
This was absolutely delicious! Thanks so much for the great recipe and directions.
Nagi says
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it Chris! Thank you for letting me know! N xx
REbecca says
Hi – we made this for a dinner party for 10. Doubled the recipe and it was amazing!!!!! Thank you for sharing.
Nagi says
It’s so wonderful to hear you enjoyed it Rebecca, thank you for letting me know!! N x
Mary says
Planning an Indian meal. I know this is Malaysian, would it work ?
Looking for a beef dish.
Nagi says
Definitely, it will be at home for an Indian meal!
elizabeth olcott says
Nagi, I want to make this with chicken. I love the spices in your beef recipe (so good!). I have checked out other sites but they do not use cardamon, cloves or star anise. Can I just change this to chicken or am I missing something.
No hurry!
Nagi says
Hi Elizabeth! To be honest, I can’t imagine rendang without cardamon, cloves or star anise. I feel like they are all key to the flavour base of rendang! And yes you can change this to chicken 🙂 The cook time will be shorter and I would use large chicken pieces with the bone in, not cubed otherwise they will cook too quickly. And if the chicken becomes super tender before the curry sauce reduces, just take the chicken out then return to the sauce later!
charlene Liang says
Hi Nagi, this recipe sounds amazing. I was wondering if any adjustments should be made other than doubling the ingredients and increasing the cooking time if I were to make twice the serving size. Also, I’ve been researching rendang recipes and there’s so many! Some of them contain turmeric. Do you think that would be a good spice to add or do some of the other spices in your recipe cover that flavor?
Nagi says
Hi Charlene! Nope, just double the recipe and increase the cook time by maybe 30%, not double 🙂 I am sure tumeric would be a great addition but to be honest, the flavours in this are so complex already, you probably wouldn’t notice it 🙂
Phil says
This recipe is simply amazing. This was my first dish that I ever cooked from scratch! It came out just amazing following the instructions. Super dish and accurate recipe! 5 stars!!
Nagi says
Woah! THIS is the FIRST recipe you have ever made from scratch?? That’s incredible Phil! I would not say this is the easiest recipe in the world, the ingredient list is fairly extensive!
Michael Brett says
Nagi, really enjoying your blog and your lovely recipes. I mentioned this one to a Malaysian friend who said her mother always fries the coconut to release the oils – what do you think? Looking forward to trying it out over the weekend!
Nagi says
Hmm….that makes sense Michael. I must try that the next time! I do hope you try this, this is a personal favourite! 🙂 N x
Sina says
Just cooked the rendang today, can’t find words to describe-unbelievable delicous, can’t wait til tomorrow, thank you for sharing This amazing recipie!