Beef Rendang

Cut Beef chuck into big, even 4 cm chunks, cutting across the grain so the fibres stay short. Rendang is a long cook — bigger pieces stay juicy inside while the outside fries dark.

⚠ Tip: Do not trim off all the fat. That fat is what carries the spice paste and gives rendang its shine.

Cover Dried chillies with just-boiled water and leave to soften for 15 min. Drain, keeping a splash of the soaking liquid in case the blender needs it.

⚠ Tip: Squeeze the chillies dry before blending — too much water makes a thin paste that takes longer to reduce.

Cover Candlenuts with hot water and leave for 10 min until soft enough to crush between your fingers. They thicken and enrich the paste; without them the gravy stays watery.

Toast Coriander seeds, Cumin seeds and Fennel seeds in a dry pan over medium heat for 1 min 30 sec, just until they smell warm and nutty, then grind fine.

Blend the drained Dried chillies, Shallots, Garlic, Lemongrass, Galangal, Ginger, Fresh turmeric, the softened Candlenuts and ground spice mix into a thick, smooth rempah. Pound it in a mortar if you can — the blades of a blender shred where a pestle crushes, and crushed aromatics taste rounder. Add only as much liquid as it takes to turn.

⚠ Tip: A properly cooked rempah smells sweet and herbal, never raw. If it smells raw it is not cooked yet — keep going.

Smash the remaining Lemongrass with the flat of a knife so it splays, tear Makrut lime leaves and pull out the stems, and knot Turmeric leaves. They go in whole, to be fished out later.

Toast Desiccated coconut in a dry pan over medium heat, stirring, for 5 min until it is dark, dry and smells like roasted nuts. Pound or pulse it to a coarse, oily crumb while it is still warm.

⚠ Tip: This is kerisik — it is what turns the gravy silky and toasted. If the coconut smells scorched or bitter, throw it out and start again.

Heat 4 tbsp Neutral oil in a wide, heavy pot over medium heat. Add rempah spice paste and the bruised lemongrass, lime leaves and turmeric leaf from the bruised aromatics. Fry gently, stirring often, for 20 min until the paste darkens, the fragrance turns sweet and thick, and the oil separates and pools at the edges. Do not rush this — it is the backbone of the dish.

⚠ Tip: If the paste catches, splash in a little coconut milk and drop the heat. A burnt rempah is bitter and cannot be fixed.

Pour in Coconut milk and Coconut cream. Add the beef, Tamarind paste, Palm sugar and 2 tsp Salt. Bring to a bare simmer, then cook mostly uncovered, stirring every so often, for 1 h 30 min until the meat is tender and the liquid has reduced by half and gone from milky white to a pale tan.

⚠ Tip: Keep the heat low and the surface barely trembling. Boiled coconut milk splits into oil and grainy fibre and no amount of stirring brings it back.

Stir in kerisik toasted coconut. From here you are finishing the rendang: the sauce should now be thickening, darkening and clinging to the meat. Keep it at low heat, stirring more often so it does not stick, for another 40 min.

⚠ Tip: Once the coconut goes in, the window between dark and burnt gets short. Stay at the stove.

Turn the heat down low and keep cooking, stirring almost constantly, for 40 min until the liquid is completely gone, the paste coats each piece in a thick dark crust and the beef starts frying in its own oil. This is the moment rendang becomes rendang: the sauce is no longer a gravy but a near-dry, glossy film. It should smell deeply toasted, not burnt.

⚠ Tip: If it tastes flat at the end, it needs more salt and another few minutes of frying, not more liquid.

Fish out the lemongrass, lime leaves and turmeric leaf. Leave the rendang off the heat for 15 min so the oil it has expelled settles back through the meat.

⚠ Tip: Rendang is even better on the second day, once the spice has had time to work its way in.

Serve warm or at room temperature with steamed rice and something sharp and raw on the side.