Indonesian Beef Rendang

Many Indonesians who live in abroad don’t have any patience to cook it. It takes hours to get the perfect rendang in taste and appearance. The authentic rendang is enriched by turmeric leaves and asam kandis not turmeric root and tamarind. However, tamarind is common to be applied for substituting asam kandis in Java island.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg beef (US: chuck, rib, and shank; Indonesian: blade, chuck, cube roll, top side + rump, silver side), unidirectional muscle fiber and thick cut
• 1 package (150 g) pure creamed coconut
• 2 cans (800 mL) young coconut water
• 1 L UHT pure coconut milk
• 4 asam kandis (can be substituted for kokam, goraka, or kodampuli)
• 4 small star anises (if you you a bigger size, take only 2 star anises)
• salt as desired

Leaf Spices (REMPAH DAUN):

• 1 turmeric leaf (since my turmeric leaves were pretty small, I used 2), chopped
• 2 kaffir lime leaves, discard the midrib leaves and chopped
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 lemongrasses, cut 3 cm long of the top parts(set aside) and bruise the rest

Other Spices:

• 100 g long red cayennne pepper
• bird eyes chilies, as desired
• 10 shallots (I used 5 since the shallots were bigger in size)
• 6 cloves garlic
• 3-cm galangal
• 4-cm ginger
• 2 top parts of lemongrass that are cut into 3-cm length
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, midrib
• 1 tbsp coriander seed, toasted
• 1 tsp cumin, toasted
• 1 tsp white peppercorn, toasted

Method:

• Combine creamed coconut, coconut milk, young coconut water with REMPAH DAUN and star anise in a large pot.
• Bring to a boil and stir once a while. When the star anises are soft, remove from the heat and drain REMPAH DAUN and star anises. Separate the 2 whole kaffir lime leaves
• Process REMPAH DAUN, star anises, and other spices except 2 whole kaffir lime leaves in a blender or food processor until smooth.
• Return the smooth spices and the 2 kaffir lime leaves to a pot and combine with warm coconut milk mixture. Boil them together for 15 minutes at a medium-high heat.
• Add beef chunks, asam kandis and salt. Let cook until the mixture starts to oil and thick. At this stage, the fragrant aroma of spices begins to smell.
• Reduce to low heat and stir once a while. When the liquid absorbs, it’s time to add stirring frequency, so the mixture is not going to be scorched on the bottom. Savory aroma starts to come out. Keep stirring until darken, dry and oily.

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