Recipe: pulled beef rendang
People often think that rendang is a specific dish. But, as cookbook author Maureen Tan explains in her book Rendang: it originally refers to a method of preparing and preserving meat in a time when not everyone had a refrigerator. Ingredients such as shallot, garlic, ginger and galangal have antibacterial properties and act as natural preservatives in the dish. We are crazy about Maureen’s pulled beef rendang. It takes some time to make, but oh my, is it delicious!
Rendang: a way of cooking
Maureen: ‘In the Netherlands, rendang is usually made with beef, and sometimes with chicken or jackfruit. For the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, rendang is not a dish but a way of cooking. ‘Rendang’ comes from the word marandang, meaning ‘slowly prepared’, and refers to the slow cooking process. The term denotes continuously turning and stirring a dish over low heat, causing the moisture to evaporate and the colour and texture to transform through various stages into what may ultimately proudly be called ‘rendang’. Although the preparation time is a little longer, this rendang dish has a truly special flavour. It is highly recommended, especially if you are a barbecue enthusiast.’
Rendang ingredients
Don’t be put off by the enormous list of ingredients. Rendang is also a beloved dish because the bumbu is so rich in flavour, and it comes from numerous ingredients, each of which contributes to the stunning end result. For this, you will need to visit the (online) Asian supermarket. If you live in or near a large city, you will probably know a good one. If you live outside the city, it may be a slightly bigger challenge. These days, however, you can find many ingredients, such as chilli peppers, lemongrass, and ginger and turmeric roots, at larger supermarkets.
Cooking = tasting
Very important while cooking: you must keep tasting the dish. At the very least at the beginning, halfway through and when it is almost ready – you can never taste too much. For example, the aroma of certain spices may have diminished because they have been sitting in the cupboard for a little longer. In that case, add a little more of one thing or another according to your instincts.
How to make pulled beef rendang
- Rub the beef short rib with the tamarind paste. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and set aside.
- In a dry frying pan over medium-high heat, toast the candlenuts, white peppercorns, black peppercorns, star anise, cloves, nutmeg, coriander seeds and cumin seeds for about 2 minutes.
- Grind the toasted spices finely in a mortar, removing the husks from the cardamom as you do so. Transfer the ground spices to a bowl and set aside.
- Add the shallots, garlic, lomboks, bird’s eye chillies, ginger root, turmeric root and galangal, along with the salt, to the mortar and grind into a fine bumbu. If the mortar is too full, grind the ingredients in batches. Set aside.
- Now light the barbecue (make sure to use indirect heat) or preheat the oven to 120 °C.
- Place a large, heavy-based pan over medium heat and add the coconut milk. Stir the bumbu and ground spices into the coconut milk. Add the lemongrass, turmeric leaves, salam leaves, lime leaves and asem kandis, and bring everything to the boil while stirring. Then lower the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add the meat and stir it through well. Bring everything back to the boil over medium-high heat. Then turn off the heat, put the lid on the pan and place the pan on the barbecue grill (indirect heat) or in the oven for 4 hours. Regularly spoon some of the rendang sauce over the meat.
- After 4 hours, check whether the meat is tender enough by pulling it apart with 2 forks. If it is not ready yet, put the lid back on the pan and cook for another hour. Remove the pan from the barbecue or oven when the meat is tender enough to pull apart into strips. Remove the meat from the sauce and let it cool briefly. Then pull the meat into strips using 2 forks. Set aside.
- Place the pan containing the rendang sauce over low heat and, without the lid, reduce the sauce gently until the meat is crisp. Then heat some of the rendang oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Fry the pulled beef in batches, stirring, until the meat is caramelised. Keep stirring well to prevent it from burning.
- Stir the pulled beef through the rendang sauce. Delicious served on steamed bao buns with lime and cucumber salad.
Title: Rendang
Author: Maureen Tan
Price: €32,99
Publisher: Carrera
In Rendang you will find traditional, regional stews as they are prepared in Sumatra, as well as Maureen’s own recipes, featuring ingredients she likes to use. Think of the traditional rendang daging, with beef, but also all kinds of other meat stews. Or a vegetarian rendang with potatoes, jackfruit, crispy fried cassava, beans, tofu, tempeh and all kinds of different vegetables. Fish, shellfish, poultry and offal are also used – as long as the end result is truly delicious.
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