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.
My Dutch husband loves Indonesian cuisine. He absolutely raved about this. Your instructions and special notes guaranteed a perfect dish. Here in Canada ingredients such as lime leaves are hard to find. I did located fresh ones. Can I freeze the extra leaves for future use?
Delicious! Made the recipe as is.
I made this two days ago. Total 5 star win! It is so rich I could only eat a couple of spoonfuls. I can also attest to the fact it tastes better the 2nd day. Chicken shawarma tomorrow! Thanks Nagi & Dozer
Bit of long shot you’ll answer..I love your recipes so much. I’m having 16 for dinner and am doing an Asian themed. For mains I’m doing the rendang, lamb massaman, papaya salad and a green chook curry. I like to be super organised and read that this recipe develops well over a few days. So my question is what is the best way to reheat without the meat drying out? Can I also do the lamb shank massaman the day before?
Hi Nagi, love this recipe.
Wondering if you had any tips for making it for a large group of around 15-20 people?
Does anyone use a ready made rendang paste? I am going away so can’t take ingredients with me. What pastes would you recommend?
Make the paste and freeze it then take with you – it make the whole thing in advance and take with you
Yes, I use the rendang Indofood pkg. But I plan to use extra ingredients in this recipe! This to me is the best recipe. I am Indonesian.
I use Indofood Rendang instant seasoning mix, which I stock up on when I go to the city with Asian food markets, as I live in rural New Zealand with limited access to good, varied spices. I make it as per the recipe on this page, browning the beef etc. then cook it overnight in a slow cooker. I leave it to cool, then reheat and brown it before serving in the evening. I serve it with home made acar, coconut rice and prawn crackers (which I also source, uncooked, from Asian markets in the city.). Dessert is usually sago gula Malacca with mango or whatever fruit I can get. I’m a Kiwi but have lived in Johore Bahru and Singapore at various times in my life, as well as travelling in Indonesia, so have a taste for the finest food! Enjoy yours!
Hope it’s not too late, try to find this great paste:
MasFood Instant Rendang Curry Paste.
I love all of the ones by MasFood (they are a Malaysian company)– especially the fish curry paste- YUM!
Just brilliant, Nagi — thank you! I made meat pies with the leftovers. Divine! Xo
Hi. Nagi,
Would love to try this recipe. What can I replace the coconut with to get the same result?
Bloody hell. I’ve cooked some great things courtesy of your recipes but THIS! I have to contribute to a ‘bunny chow’ night. It’s essentially curry served in bread and is a traditional South African dish. I’ve been packing it, as I’m not South African (though most there will be) and the other people tasked with making curries are next level curry makers.
Anyway, I’m walking in with my head high because this dish is amazing- an explosion of all the right flavours, beautifully balanced and explained in such detail with accessible ingredients… thank you Nagi!!!
Hi !! Can I cook this with galangal powder instead of fresh galangal?
I was wondering this as well!
Amazing recipe. My friends said it is the best rendang they have. Thank you so so much.
Perfect rendang recipe. Keep making it over and over again. It’s the recipe that got me hooked on your website. I will always check first if a recipe is on recipetineats before I check elsewhere.
Awwww thanks for the repeat business Susanne! That’s so nice to hear!! N x
Cooked this last night, really tasty, thank you
Woo hoo I am glad that you liked it Terry! N x
This was a really tasty dish with such great flavours! I’m not a good cook and the results were restaurant quality! The details and subs were so helpful. Will definitely make again!
Hi there
If I was to use a store bought rendang paste, how much should I use?
Depends how spicy you like it. I used half a packet of Indofoods Rendang instant seasoning mix and it’s hot for western palettes but maybe not so much for those brought up on very spicy food. Hope this helps.
Woo hoo I am glad you liked it Lily!! N x
Love the recipe, a couple of questions, ever tried it with beef cheek? And instead of salt would fish sauce work and add another dimension, what about a touch of belacan?
Dear Chris
Pls don’t add belachan into the rendang ! Use belachan for other malaysian dishes .. we have a lot of good recipes online !
Also , better use salt than fish sauce.
Yes Chris, beef cheek would be great for this – just cut to the correct size. I think the fish sauce could be a fine sub for the salt if you prefer that. N x
Nagi excellent recipe. I made it yesterday for dinner and it was a huge hit. The flavours were incredible. Very easy recipe thank you.
I am happy that you liked it Erika! N x
I made this the night before for lunch today and it tasted like what you would get at a restaurant – absolutely incredible! For the longest time, I have had the ChinChin cookbook and wanted to make their beef rendang but it is a far too laboursome recipe for the average person, with 3 sub-recipes within it, so I never got around to doing it. But this version, although still requires some effort, is so doable and just as good. Thank you so much for sharing your genius Nagi!
I am glad that you enjoyed it Iris! N x
I’m not rating as I didn’t have kaffir lime leaves so I used lime juice and zest. Flavours were amazing but beef was tough from original cooking times through to another 30 minutes at low heat. I think the lime juice was a bad idea. The Chuck was purchased at a butcher and not cheap. Your recipes usually rock but this one was not great. I’m going to try again with lime leaves when I can get them because I think the flavours will be awesome.
Nagi, Hi!! I have dried galangal slices would I be better off using those or fresh ginger (UK based) Love your recipes, you are my “go to”for all recipes!! XXX
Oh yes, you are so right, Nagi
that to say that Beef Rendang is extravagantly delicious is an understatement!