Rendang is the best food in the world

Rendang

Rendang ( hot and spicy beef curry) is a signature dish from Padang, a region in West Sumatra Island, and has become a traditional cuisine in Indonesia, especially during Eid-al-Fitr (end of Ramadhan) celebration. Oftentimes, each region adds different ingredients to season the rendang. However, the main spice ingredients are the same.

Rendang is often served with steamed rice, ketupat or kupat (a compressed rice cake), and lemang (made from glutinous rice, coconut milk and salt, and cooked in a hollowed out bamboo stick lined with banana leaves), accompanied with other side dishes such as opor (a chicken curry), sambal goreng ati (chicken liver and gizzard in spicy coconut milk), tumis kacang panjang (long bean stir fry), and of course, topped with sambal bajak (a very spicy but sweet chili).

Directions

1.    Cut meat into 20 1-inch pieces.

2.    Pour in the coconut milk into a pan/wok, and then add the spice paste (ground spices), lemon grass, “asam kandis,” turmeric leaves, and kaffir lime leaves into a pan/wok.

3.    While stirring, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-low.

4.    Stir occasionally until the meat is fork-tender.

5.    Should the sauce take longer to thicken, remove the meat.

6.    Continue to stir to make sure the sauce does not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan/wok, and take out the “asam kandis” (gamboge tree”, “egg tree”, “sour magosteen”, “conchin-goraka”).

7.    After the sauce thickens and is dark brown and oily, put the meat back into the pan/wok.

8.    Stir the meat and the sauce until well-blended, and take out the “asam kandis” (gamboge tree”, “egg tree”, “sour magosteen”, “conchin-goraka”).

9.                  Continue cooking until thickened to your liking, dry or a little bit wet, and then remove from the heat.

Note:

o    To make a good “rendang”, you need 1500 ml coconut milk from mature coconuts. Make two batches. For the first batch, make 500 ml of fresh coconut milk, no water added, from the grated coconut, and put it aside. Then, make a second batch, adding water to the rest of the grated coconut, to make another 1000 ml of coconut milk.

o    If you use canned coconut milk, sautée the ground spices first.

o    Use beef tenderloin if you want to cook faster and to have rich and tender “rendang” meat.

o    In several areas of West Sumatra, it is optional to add Indonesian curry paste.

o    If you want, you can add ½ to 1 tablespoon of Indonesian curry paste (to taste).