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:
Blitz curry paste ingredient in food processor;
Brown the beef;
Cook off the curry paste – releases amazing flavour!
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!
- Biryani (it’s amazing!)
- Chicken Tikka Masala
- Dal (Indian lentil curry)
- Thai Red Curry
- Massaman Curry
- 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.
It’s really delicious !!!
Will definitely try your other recipe.
Thank you for sharing it.
Thank you for this fantastic recipe. The dish turned out brilliantly
I’m a professional chef and have seldom seen a recipe explained so complete and clearly.
Your notes are priceless and adding the timings for pressure cooking and slow cooking is a great idea.
I am a pressure /slow cooker freak.
I can’t wait to read and try your other recipes.
I’m really pleased I found you Nagi 🙂
This is out of this world. We’ve made it about 6 times now and have had a slightly different flavour each time as you’d expect from using the fresh ingredients. I can’t believe we’ve made a curry of this quality at home. Thanks for an amazing recipe!
Thanks for the feedback Helen! Glad you enjoyed this 🙂 N x
Oh my!!! This recipe is so easy and delicious… I never thought I could cook such a superb dish.
My husband absolutely loved it. The only thing is the star anise- is there a substitute or another way to use it to get the flavour without biting into a star anise. What do you recommend?
Hi there, Can I ask how many dried chillies would you recommend if children would eat this dish so that it isn’t TOO spicy? Thank you.
Hi Sarah! That’s a tough one – how old are the children?? Rendang is a bit spicy and you can’t skip the chillies completely because they are part of the flavour base 🙂
Dear Nagi, beef rendang tasted delicious, yummy! I ‘ll try to make this every week. Thank you for your yummy recipes and for your hard working for this site 5 STARS.
Thank you for your videos also 5 STARS; I’m always happy with your videos that makes everything easier.
Love to your sweet Dog en greetings from Amsterdam.
Terrific to hear you enjoyed this!! Thanks Ira! N x
Hello Nagi!
I’ve just questions regarding lemon grass. I live in country WA and cannot get hold a good fresh ones (the fresh ones i can find at my local grocery store are minuscule and cost $5 for 3 sticks, but they ARE minuscule: about 5cm long- not quite 1cm in diameter ! and they usually only have one box) . On a recent trip to Perth I’ve managed to get hold of lemon grass paste. I’ve got 2 tubs but how much should I use for this recipe ?
Now if i would get lucky and find some nice one like in your photo, do they freeze well ?
And I have actually another question but this time about kaffir lime leaves. I found some dried and crushed in the spice section of my local store !! Whoop whoop but… no indication on the jar about quantities to replace fresh ones. Do you have any clue on that one by any chance ?
I’ve made that recipe before with those dried kaffir lime leaves and those minuscule lemongrass sticks (one packet of 3 @ $5 the packet), it was good but I want to try it done properly this time 🙂
Thanks
Jo
Hi Jo! I would use 1 1/2 tbsp in this 🙂 paste isn’t as strong as fresh ones. Try growing them! I am told it grows very well!! I believe it does freeze well because at Asian stores, you can get chopped lemongrass which is a “trade secret” in the Malaysian world apparently!! For kaffir lime leaves, use the same amount as fresh. Hope you love it!! N xx
Thank you very much Nagi !
Made this a couple of days ago to acclaim. However, I must confess I cheated somewhat. I had 2 tins of Maesri’s Panang paste in my pantry and subbed these for the spice paste – the list of ingredients on the can was very similar to yours. My experience with Maesri pastes has been consistently good.
Despite my guilt, the rendang was delish! Served it with roti, coconut rice and an asian slaw with your sesame dressing. Thanks as always, Nagi!
That’s so great to hear Katharine! Thanks for letting me know! N x
Beef Rendang came out amazing! Everyone loved it! It will be my go-to asian potluck dish.
Thanks for the clear and detailed instructions! Very helpful for a novice like me.
That’s great to hear Warren! Thanks for letting me know!
5 nights, 5 recipes from your blog and ALL 😋😋 yummy scrummy 😋😋 including this one ☝️ ! The beef was perfectly tender and the curry full of flavours !!
I’ve got to thank you for sharing all those beautiful recipes: I was stalling with my old recipes and needed something new! Plus I love, love, love that everything (or just about) is made from scratch! That’s the way I like to cook and feed my family. The less additives and processing the better.
So thank you again so much
Xx
I’m so pleased you enjoyed this Johanna! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback! N x ❤️
Just curious i am thinking about buying a sous vide and precooking , however i have learned to marinate my beef with pineapple to tenderize it , and trust me it works well , so to my point will this work with using pretendrerized meat like chuck roast /pot roast or is better to stay with the recipe as written? Also i had a friend the a restaurant that served Malaysian food and he served me a dish call rendang dang with a spring roll that was light and filled with vegetables and a spicy red sauce that i cannot forget but can’t reproduce or find can you help?
Hi Marc – I just did what you are asking. I sous vide my beef shin and rump steak prior to cutting it up and incorporating it in the curry. I did not brown the meat before sous vide or before adding it in the curry. It was nice and brown from the time in the sous vide. Sous vide @ 145F for 24 hours. Then followed the recipe exactly — just no browning necessary. I still cooked it as long as Nagi recommends and it came out melting 🙂 Hope this helps answer your question
Nagi – this meal is just delightful. I made it on Sunday afternoon using chuck steak from my butcher and my family was almost silent! Thank you.
I’ve made this twice – with a Sirloin Joint I got for cheaps and with Chicken Thighs. My methodology was different but the recipe was identical and on both occasions was superb. No, it was sublime. No wait, sublimely superb!
For the beef: I followed your instructions except pressure cooked for 45 minutes and then reduced on the hob – I didn’t brown but will try that next time for sure. This was a time related decision.
For the chicken thighs: I browned skinside down in the pan and removed to fry the paste and then everything went in the pan as normal except I only added the cream of the coconut tin. Just before the end I removed the chicken thighs, deboned them and cut them up into chunks and put them back in the pan for the sauce to thicken around – took just over an hour, start to finish. I’d try skinless, boneless next time to see if the bone has added anything – it would be quicker without the skin and bone.
This exceeded my expectations, the chicken might actually be better – no kidding – and want to say thank you very much! This is a 5 star recipe and, although there are plenty of different rendang recipes online (it seems every man and his dog has there own recipe), I am always on the search for perfection and I would be nervous to try another! I ‘ll likely never bother 🙂
P.S – I tried your restaurant coconut rice and it was superb. I’ll always have this with my Beef Rendang – the coconut powder is a revelation(although I used the Maggi version and only needed half the amount of powder you have in the recipe)
P.P.S – I noticed at my local Chinese supermarket they have frozen grated coconut – which I would need to dry fry and grind to make ‘real’ kerisik. I’ve been using desiccated coconut – is there much of a difference? I suppose the real question is, is it worth it?
So pleased to hear that Jason! Love all your feedback 🙂 I haven’t tried this with frozen grated coconut, love to know what you think if you do try it!! N xx
Plop! I also meant to say that I love, nay LOVE, the copious notes. I’m an extremely keen home cook but not particularly intuitive – they helped tremendously,
Thanks so much for posting this recipe! I had to make some substitutions, and I’m *really* not good with spicy food so I only put in a couple of chili peppers, but it ended up tasting fantastic! I was surprised at how easy it was to make, given the complexity of the taste 🙂
So pleased to hear that Mike! Thanks for letting me know 🙂 N x
This was bloody awesome!!!
Rendang is one of our favourite dishes. The restaurant we used to go to couldn’t guarantee it being peanut free so we haven’t been able to take our kids there (our son has a nut allergy). This is the first time we have ever cooked one of our restaurant favourites at home and thought it was just as good- and that’s a testament to your recipe, not my cooking!
Thank you for posting this – we will definitely cook it again- many times.
I didn’t quite nail the coconut rice – the flavour was good but not the texture. Think I added a bit to much liquid as I can’t get our stove to do a real low simmer.
Overall – 9/10!!
That’s wonderful to hear Richard! Thanks for taking the time to let me know you enjoyed this! N xx
The first time I had rendang was in Malaysia. It truly is the king of curry. I have visited Bali and have ordered Rendang and have been disappointed at times.
I tried this recipe and wow. Now I am empowered to make my own authentic rendang. It was everything I would have hoped for. The whole family loved it. When I cook it for visitors I take the seeds out of the chilies as they may find it a little hot.
This curry blows your head off not with heat but flavor. Absolute winner.
I’m so pleased to hear that Lucas! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this! N x ❤️
I tried this recipe and it was very good. I had an issue with grinding the spices. I could not get the lemon grass to be grounded using a food processor. I ended just putting all the spices in a cheesecloth and let it simmer in the broth. Please teach me how to grind the spices. Thanks.
Hi Mel! It does come down to how powerful your food processor is 🙂 It helps to add a bit more liquid – try adding an extra tablespoon or 2 or water, it will cook out when you cook the curry so it’s fine to do so. Adding liquid can help process things better. Glad you enjoyed it though! N xx
If made in advance, how do you recommend reheating?
Hi Nagi,
I came across your website when I was looking through different beef rendang recipe! I love you give out a lot of cooking tips and the sceince behind it ! (ie: the browning and scrap the brown bits when cooking the paste !)
Will definitely be following your posts! Tried it out today and yummm!!! I’m even tempted to get a Dutch oven pot for the browning process !
Thank you and keep cooking and posting
This isn’t Nicole from Victoria, is it?? I was looking for a Beef Rendang recipe, and I’m wondering if this is the one I had on Sunday!
Thanks for your message Nicole! I’m so pleased you enjoyed this – and I’m glad you found me too! N xx
Hello Nagi, I discovered your recipes in December and I am slowly trying all the recipes. So far : delicious. I buy my chilies from a thai shop and I used 10 in the beef Rendang recipe and it is too strong too eat. I have 3 questions please, what do I do know to save the dish ? And what kind of chilies was I supposed to use ? Did I misread the recipe and the paste was to be halved ? Thanks for your help and for your website !
Lola