Sanctuary from The Mad World
Ask not what you can do for your country. Ask what's for lunch. - Orson Welles

No self respecting fan of Asian cuisine would say no to Rendang. It’s a classic beef curry from West Sumatra and loved by people all over the world. It’s funny. I don’t think of Rendang as special - I appreciate the sauce but not the stringy, dry, and flavourless meat - and prefer other less-known but exotic stuffs such as sambal goreng udang (prawn sambal), ayam pop (chicken boiled in coconut water, lightly fried), or even beef-brain curry, a childhood favourite. But most non-Indonesian friends I know demand Rendang instead. 

There are different variations of Rendang: from the dry, black-brown type with stringy meat to the almost-soupy kind with, often, tough cubes. The Chinese makes theirs with pork! My favourite is made of beef, with thick gravy and tender meat with additional hard-boiled eggs to stretch the meal further.

I swear by this recipe (modified to show steps using canned coconut milk) from Lita which I’ve made numerous time to great success. Rendang is actually very easy to make but it takes a long time (and a lot of energy) to achieve that perfect orange-brown colour.  The meat and spices are essentially fried gently with oil from the coconut milk.  Furthermore, boiling down that much water off the coconut milk to achieve thick gravy is not an easy feat. Once done, however, I am rewarded with economical yet delightful meal for weeks as I simply open my freezer and pop a cube of tender meat and sweet gravy into the microwave. 

Ingredients:
1 kg beef (I like to use the neck, shoulder or brisket to ensure tenderness), cut into cubes.
800 ml of coconut milk (2x400 ml can)
2 lemon grass, bruised
5 kaffir lime leaves
Salt to taste

To grind:
200 g of chilies (I use the big red kind)
12 shallots (preferably Asian red shallots)
6 cloves of garlic
1 tsp coriander seeds, dry-fried in a pan
3-4 cm ginger
3-4 cm gallangal

Optional:
1/2 cup of soaked red kidney or borlotti beans 
Hard-boiled eggs

Directions:
Ground chilies, shallot, garlic, coriander seeds, ginger and gallangal in a food processor. Set aside. 

Scoop a few spoonfuls of the coconut cream from the can. Add the ground spices and fry the mixture in medium heat, stirring from time to time to prevent scorching, until water evaporates and bright orange oil seeps through the edges (might take 30-45 minutes). Add the meat cubes and stir well until the pieces are no longer pink.

Add the rest of the coconut milk, the beans and hard-boiled eggs (if using), and salt. Simmer in medium heat and do not let the coconut milk boil. Lower the heat further when you see the danger of boiling. 

Oil will rise to the surface as the stew is heated. Stir from time to time to prevent scorching. Simmer to the desired colour and viscosity. Some likes it to be dark orange with thick but scoop-able gravy, others prefer theirs very dry and very brown. This process can easily take 2-3 hours or longer. 

Serve best the next day with plenty of steamed rice. Rendang keeps well in the fridge or freezer and its flavour improves over time.