Beef Rendang - Slow Braised Beef in a Rich Coconut Curry

By Dr_Mom

This curry features spices and aromatics that typify Indonesian cuisine. Beef, water buffalo or goat s slow braised in spice laden coconut milk until most of the liquid evaporates. The quality of the coconut milk is important here; if you can't get fresh canned will work but get a high quality brand.

Ingredients

• CURRY PASTE:
• 3 pounds well marbled boneless beef chuck or boneless short ribs cut into 2-inch cubes
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 whole nutmeg cracked open or 2 teaspoons powdered nutmeg
• 5 whole cloves or 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 cup shallots, coarsely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 4 finger red chilies, stemmed and sliced
• 1.5 teaspoons ground tumeric
• 2 tablespoons ginger juice (see note*)
• 1 (2-inch) piece of fresh galangal, peeled and thinly sliced against the grain or 2 teaspoons powdered galangal
• 2 tablespoons peanut or canola oil
• 3 cups unsweetened coconut milk, divided
• 3 stalks fresh lemongrass, trimmed and chopped
• 1 (4-inch) cinnamon stick
• 4 whole fresh kaffir lime leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Note: to make ginger juice: Peel a 4-inch piece of ginger and grate it with a fine grater (zester). Squeeze the pulp over a fine mesh strainer and discard the pulp. Stir it up before measuring

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 15mins
Cooking time 140mins
Adapted from s3.amazonaws.com

Preparation

Step 1

Place whole nutmeg and cloves in a spice or coffee grinder and pulse until a dusty powder (do this even if you're using ground spices you want a really, really fine powder). Set aside

Put shallots, garlic, chilies, tumeric, ginger juice, galangal and ground spices in a food processor and pulse to get a thick paste. You can also do this in a mortar and pestle if you've got strong arms

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 6 quart capacity saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the flavoring paste and cook stirring until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add 1/4 cup of the coconut milk and saute for another 3 minutes.

Add beef and stir to coat. Add remaining coconut milk, lemongrass, cinnamon stick, Kaffir lime leaves and salt. Stir to combine well

Bring to a boil over medium heat. As soon as it boils reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for 2 hours. Stir the pot every 30 minutes or so and scrape the bottom to prevent scorching and crust creation.

After 2 hours most of the liquid should have reduced to almost a quarter of its original volume. If you like sauce you can stop at this point or you can continue to simmer until it's almost completely dry, about 20 minutes more

Remove and discard the cinnamon stick, lemongrass and Kaffir lime leaves, serve with Nasi Lemak or steamed rice