Easiest Beef Rendang
Beef Rendang, like Tikka Masala, just Malaysian. The beef rendang is a spicy stew that almost every Malaysian will grow up with. My memories of the dish date all the way back to my faintest and earliest memories where a very large batch would be made on a Sunday and we would save portions for the whole week, it’s a good job it’s one of my favourite dishes!
Although Beef Rendang is Indonesia’s national dish, it is popular across the whole of Southeast Asia. Diasporas in these countries will always get together with their friends and family to enjoy the stew.
In fact, the dish is so popular that CNN named it one of the 50 best foods in a reader’s poll that garnered 35,000 votes - hard to argue with that!
Traditionally, Beef Rendang is cooked over several hours, and the word ‘rendang’ actually originates from ‘merendang,’ an Indonesian word which refers to the slow-cooking method used to make the beef tender, but don’t worry, there are much less strenuous ways to cook at home - the easiest way is with a slow cooker. For a simple, easy to follow recipe, try our Mak Tok Ultimate Beef Rendang which includes just eight ingredients.
Now, Rendang is so popular in Malaysia that there are over fifty different recipes that originated from the country, but the most popular is still beef rendang - the most important ingredients are the beef, coconut milk, and our very own Mak Tok’s Rendang chilli paste which gives the stew a delicious mix of creamy and spicy flavours.
Sounds complicated? It doesn’t have to be. Here at Mak Tok, we’ve developed a paste which includes all of the most important ingredients: lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and a dash of ginger for good measure. All you need to do is cook the beef on low heat (but make sure it stays juicy!) and add our rendang chilli paste, coconut milk and any other ingredients that take your fancy - we recommend having it with a couple of chilli peppers. After this, just serve it with rice and enjoy the delicious flavours and a dollop of Mak Tok's spicy chilli sauce.
Tired of the beef rendang, or fancy something vegetarian-friendly? Why not try the aubergine or banana blossom. The second of these ingredients may sound obscure, but it’s available in most good supermarkets.
