What’s a Rendang?

One thing I’ve learned about Asian cooking – There’s a heck-ton of ingredients involved.  If you cook Chinese or Thai food often, a lot of these ingredients will become fast staples in your pantry.  So although lengthy in number, it’s not a huge effort.  I absolutely adore curries, and so recently I’ve been experimenting with the varied spices and herbs that go into curries to find a perfect dish.  I think I’ve done it with this Beef Rendang recipe.

The other night I invited family over to sample the concoction.  I got a lot of questions. Primarily, what the heck is a rendang?  Although I knew what one tasted like, I couldn’t quite give the history on it. So I looked it up.  Briefly, it’s a caramelized beef curry served at ceremonial “feasts” in areas like Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.  In my house, it’ s what we call darn-good dinner.

You’ll need a large cast iron casserole dish or a heavy-bottomed stock pot for this recipe as it cooks for hours on the stove top.  You definitely don’t want the sauce or meat to scorch.  ProCook sent me this lovely which is perfect for this recipe, and we’ve got one to give away too….don’t miss the rafflecopter app at the bottom of the post.

Invite your friends and family over for a unique culinary treat.  Compliment the meal with some steamed edamame with sea salt and some steamed jasmine rice.

Beef Rendang

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped red onions
3 tablespoons ginger paste
1 1/2 tablespoons of minced garlic
2 tablespoons of Sriracha (chili garlic sauce)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground tumeric
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 cloves, whole
1 large jalapeno, chopped
1 14 ounce can of light coconut milk
2/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
2 tablespoons lime juice
4 three inch pieces of fresh lemongrass stalks, crushed with flat edge of a knife
2 1/2 pounds of boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock

Directions:

Place first nine ingredients (through jalapeno) in food processor along with 1/4 cup of coconut milk and blend until smooth.  Set aside.  Place three tablespoons of coconut milk with flaked coconut and 1/4 cup of water and blend until smooth (you’ll need to use a mini food processor for this step).

Heat a heavy-bottomed casserole dish over medium high heat and add onion mixture cooking two minutes or until fragrant.

Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce heat to medium low and simmer 2 hours or until beef is tender.  Stir occasionally.  Discard lemongrass and stir in coconut mixture.  Simmer uncovered an additional 20 minutes or until sauce is thick and mostly evaporated.

Serves 4-6

Sounds good, right?