Indonesian Beef Rendang – braised beef in an aromatic coconut sauce.

Beef Rendang – beef braised in coconut milk with plenty of warm spices, chilli, ginger, galangal and lemongrass. This dish is, quite simply, outstanding. The meat becomes so tender it almost falls apart, and the aromatic sauce slowly reduces until all those flavours cling to every single piece of meat. It is one of those dishes that needs a little time on the hob, but it largely looks after itself – and the result is well worth the wait.

Beef Rendang is a classic dish with roots in Indonesia, and it is hugely popular in Malaysia too. It differs a little from the stews we usually make here in Denmark: although the meat is braised in coconut milk, the finished dish is not meant to have a lot of sauce. On the contrary, the liquid should cook almost completely away, leaving you with the most tender beef, coated in an intense, spiced and wonderfully flavourful mixture.

I start by making a spice paste from shallots, garlic, fresh ginger, galangal, chilli, spices and a little olive oil. Everything is blended to a paste, which I fry in a heavy-based pan for about 10 minutes. This is where it develops its flavour and takes on a little colour, and you can really smell the aromas beginning to fill the kitchen.

The beef then goes straight into the spice paste, where I turn it well and season with salt and freshly ground pepper. So the meat is not browned first, as you would often do with a stew. Instead, it is left to soak up flavour from the aromatic paste before I add coconut milk and a little stock.

And here I would really recommend using a good coconut milk with a high fat content – not a light version. The richness of the coconut milk is an important part of the dish and helps give the finished rendang its characteristic texture and intense flavour.

I also add lemongrass, which I first bruise well so it releases plenty of aroma, along with cinnamon sticks, kaffir lime leaves, star anise and a little soft light brown sugar. Then I put the lid on the pan and let everything simmer gently for about 2 1/2 hours. Meanwhile the meat becomes beautifully tender, and all the spices have time to develop.

Once the meat is tender, I take off the lid and let the dish keep cooking so the liquid slowly reduces. This is where the magic really happens! The sauce becomes more and more concentrated, the coconut fat begins to separate out, and in the end the dark, spiced mixture sits almost like a coating around the meat. Along the way I remove the lemongrass, cinnamon sticks, lime leaves and star anise so they don’t risk catching on the bottom. Remember to stir regularly too, especially as the dish starts to become dry.

It may feel a little unfamiliar to let a stew reduce this far, but that is exactly what makes Beef Rendang something special. You should not end up with a runny sauce, but with juicy, tender beef covered in the most wonderful, intense spice mixture.

I serve my Beef Rendang very simply with steaming hot jasmine rice, finely sliced spring onions and, ideally, a little dry-toasted coconut on top. It really doesn’t need more than that, as there is so much flavour in the meat itself.

Which cut of beef is best for Beef Rendang?

I like to use beef shoulder or chuck, and both work really well. The most important thing is that the meat simmers long enough to become completely tender. Cut it into fairly large pieces so it stays juicy during the long cooking and doesn’t dry out as the sauce reduces.

A truly delicious Indonesian-inspired dish of braised beef, coconut milk and plenty of aromatic spices. It calls for a little patience, but the actual work is very simple – and you are rewarded with a dish that tastes like far more work than it actually is.