Close
Photo: Jen Causey (Photo); Emily Nabors Hall (Food); Josh Hoggle (Props)
Active Time:35 minsTotal Time:1 hr 35 minsServings:4Jump to Nutrition Facts
Active Time:35 minsTotal Time:1 hr 35 minsServings:4
Active Time:35 mins
Active Time:
35 mins
Total Time:1 hr 35 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 35 mins
Servings:4
Servings:
4
Jump to Nutrition Facts
Jump to recipe
I haven’t eaten my mother’s rendang since I gave up eating red meat two decades ago.
One of my favorites was rendang, which originated in the Minangkabau region of West Sumatra and has since spread across the Indonesian archipelago. The dish likely evolved from a need to preserve freshly killed buffalo meat in the heat of Indonesia’s tropical climate with no refrigeration. It gets its name from merendang, the technique of slow-cooking cubes of meat in spiced coconut milk. After about four hours, the water is removed , leaving a robust oil that cooks the meat until it’s quite blackened and dry and infuses it with rich, succulent flavors.
You’ll find as many rendang recipes as you’ll find cooks. Some versions are brothy like other Southeast Asian curries; others are cooked down until the coconut milk mixture is a thick, redwood-brown gravy. But the most traditional version is a somewhat-dry dish that has been cooked until most of the coconut milk has evaporated and the meat is coated with a very tasty coffee-brown residue called blondo.
During that trip, I sampled a variety of rendang dishes and discovered that my mum’s rendang is quite different from everyone else’s. My mum doesn’t add the krisik (shredded fresh coconut that’s toasted and pounded into a “butter”) used as a thickener in many renditions (because she doesn’t like it). She stops cooking it when it’s still saucy. Plus, her beef and potato combo is definitely not the norm!
But the highlight of my trip was reconnecting with rendang in vegan form.
In Central Java, I met with acclaimed chef Dewi Novita Sari. Dewi and her husband, Dadang Herry Murpiyanto, ownLittle Garden, a delightful plant-based restaurant set among rice fields in Yogyakarta. Dewi welcomed me into her home kitchen and taught me how to make rendang with oyster mushrooms (rendang jamur). A meatless rendang is not unusual, said Dewi, who learned to cook from her grandmother. In fact, plant-based dishes were very much a part of her childhood diet growing up in a small village on the outskirts of Yogya.
More research revealed that even though buffalo meat was the original choice for rendang, other variants include poultry, ferns, jackfruit, eel, cassava and the most common today, beef.
Except for the main ingredient, Dewi’s recipe is similar to what I ate growing up in many ways. When I came home, I used her recipe as a base and incorporated elements from my mum’s to create a mushroom rendang recipe all my own. I used to feel a twinge of guilt for not following my mum’s recipes to a T. However, I’ve since realized that there’s nothing wrong with taking a traditional recipe off tangent. That’s what my mum did. So why can’t I?
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)Ingredients2mediumshallots, coarsely chopped3clovesgarlic, smashed¼cupchili paste, such as sambal oelek,orto taste¾teaspoonsalt, divided2tablespoonscanola oilorother neutral oil, such as coconutoravocado½teaspoonground cardamom¼teaspoonSichuan peppercornsorblack peppercorns, coarsely ground1(2 inch)cinnamon stick3star anise1poundoyster mushrooms, shredded into strips with your fingers1(13-ounce) cancoconut milk mixed with 1/2 cup water¼cuptamarind water (see Notes)or2 tablespoons lime juice2lemongrass stalks, trimmed4makrut lime leaves (see Notes; optional)2(1/2-inch) slicesgalangal (see Notes)orfresh ginger2tablespoonscoconut palm sugar (see Notes)ordark brown sugar2cupshot cooked jasmine rice
Cook Mode(Keep screen awake)
Ingredients
2mediumshallots, coarsely chopped
3clovesgarlic, smashed
¼cupchili paste, such as sambal oelek,orto taste
¾teaspoonsalt, divided
2tablespoonscanola oilorother neutral oil, such as coconutoravocado
½teaspoonground cardamom
¼teaspoonSichuan peppercornsorblack peppercorns, coarsely ground
1(2 inch)cinnamon stick
3star anise
1poundoyster mushrooms, shredded into strips with your fingers
1(13-ounce) cancoconut milk mixed with 1/2 cup water
¼cuptamarind water (see Notes)or2 tablespoons lime juice
2lemongrass stalks, trimmed
4makrut lime leaves (see Notes; optional)
2(1/2-inch) slicesgalangal (see Notes)orfresh ginger
2tablespoonscoconut palm sugar (see Notes)ordark brown sugar
2cupshot cooked jasmine rice
DirectionsPulse shallots, garlic, chili paste and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small food processor or blender until it’s the texture of oatmeal, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.(Alternatively, use a mortar and pestle.)Heat oil in a large flat-bottom wok or skillet over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add the shallot mixture, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and star anise; cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is very fragrant and has turned a few shades darker, 5 to 7 minutes. (Reduce the heat if the paste is browning too fast; you don’t want the paste to burn.) Once the moisture has evaporated, the ingredients will separate from the oil. The paste is now ready for the next step.Add mushrooms and stir to coat with the spice paste. Add coconut milk-water mixture, tamarind water (or lime juice), lemongrass, lime leaves (if using) galangal (or ginger), sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring constantly so the coconut milk doesn’t split. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated, forming a thick gravy, and oil pools on the surface of the rendang, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Toward the end of cooking, stir more frequently so the mixture doesn’t stick.Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Fish out and discard the whole herbs and spices, or leave them in for a rustic presentation. Serve over rice.TipsTo make tamarind water, combine 1 1/2 teaspoons seedless “wet” tamarind pulp with 1/4 cup hot water. Stir and pour through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to extract the liquid. Reserve the liquid and discard the solids. Tamarind in this form is sold in 1-pound plastic packages at Asian markets. If tamarind concentrate is all you can find, that is fine but you may have to use up to twice as much. Taste as you go.Makrut lime leaveslend lemony and floral notes to Southeast Asian dishes. Find the leaves fresh, frozen or jarred in Asian markets and well-stocked supermarkets.Galangalis a rhizome that looks like ginger but has a peppery, citrusy flavor. Look for it in the produce department of well-stocked supermarkets or Asian markets.Coconut palm sugar, a mildly caramel-flavored sweetener popular in Southeast Asian cuisine, is made from the sap of coconut palm trees. The sap is harvested from the flower bud stem of the trees and evaporated in large woks before being left to solidify. You will find it in granulated and solid form in Asian markets and online.Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, May 2023
Directions
Pulse shallots, garlic, chili paste and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small food processor or blender until it’s the texture of oatmeal, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.(Alternatively, use a mortar and pestle.)Heat oil in a large flat-bottom wok or skillet over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add the shallot mixture, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and star anise; cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is very fragrant and has turned a few shades darker, 5 to 7 minutes. (Reduce the heat if the paste is browning too fast; you don’t want the paste to burn.) Once the moisture has evaporated, the ingredients will separate from the oil. The paste is now ready for the next step.Add mushrooms and stir to coat with the spice paste. Add coconut milk-water mixture, tamarind water (or lime juice), lemongrass, lime leaves (if using) galangal (or ginger), sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring constantly so the coconut milk doesn’t split. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated, forming a thick gravy, and oil pools on the surface of the rendang, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Toward the end of cooking, stir more frequently so the mixture doesn’t stick.Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Fish out and discard the whole herbs and spices, or leave them in for a rustic presentation. Serve over rice.TipsTo make tamarind water, combine 1 1/2 teaspoons seedless “wet” tamarind pulp with 1/4 cup hot water. Stir and pour through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to extract the liquid. Reserve the liquid and discard the solids. Tamarind in this form is sold in 1-pound plastic packages at Asian markets. If tamarind concentrate is all you can find, that is fine but you may have to use up to twice as much. Taste as you go.Makrut lime leaveslend lemony and floral notes to Southeast Asian dishes. Find the leaves fresh, frozen or jarred in Asian markets and well-stocked supermarkets.Galangalis a rhizome that looks like ginger but has a peppery, citrusy flavor. Look for it in the produce department of well-stocked supermarkets or Asian markets.Coconut palm sugar, a mildly caramel-flavored sweetener popular in Southeast Asian cuisine, is made from the sap of coconut palm trees. The sap is harvested from the flower bud stem of the trees and evaporated in large woks before being left to solidify. You will find it in granulated and solid form in Asian markets and online.
Pulse shallots, garlic, chili paste and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small food processor or blender until it’s the texture of oatmeal, about 1 minute, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.(Alternatively, use a mortar and pestle.)
Heat oil in a large flat-bottom wok or skillet over medium-low heat until shimmering. Add the shallot mixture, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon stick and star anise; cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture is very fragrant and has turned a few shades darker, 5 to 7 minutes. (Reduce the heat if the paste is browning too fast; you don’t want the paste to burn.) Once the moisture has evaporated, the ingredients will separate from the oil. The paste is now ready for the next step.
Add mushrooms and stir to coat with the spice paste. Add coconut milk-water mixture, tamarind water (or lime juice), lemongrass, lime leaves (if using) galangal (or ginger), sugar and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt; stir to combine. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring constantly so the coconut milk doesn’t split. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes, until most of the liquid has evaporated, forming a thick gravy, and oil pools on the surface of the rendang, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Toward the end of cooking, stir more frequently so the mixture doesn’t stick.
Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Fish out and discard the whole herbs and spices, or leave them in for a rustic presentation. Serve over rice.
Tips
To make tamarind water, combine 1 1/2 teaspoons seedless “wet” tamarind pulp with 1/4 cup hot water. Stir and pour through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing on the solids to extract the liquid. Reserve the liquid and discard the solids. Tamarind in this form is sold in 1-pound plastic packages at Asian markets. If tamarind concentrate is all you can find, that is fine but you may have to use up to twice as much. Taste as you go.
Makrut lime leaveslend lemony and floral notes to Southeast Asian dishes. Find the leaves fresh, frozen or jarred in Asian markets and well-stocked supermarkets.
Galangalis a rhizome that looks like ginger but has a peppery, citrusy flavor. Look for it in the produce department of well-stocked supermarkets or Asian markets.
Coconut palm sugar, a mildly caramel-flavored sweetener popular in Southeast Asian cuisine, is made from the sap of coconut palm trees. The sap is harvested from the flower bud stem of the trees and evaporated in large woks before being left to solidify. You will find it in granulated and solid form in Asian markets and online.
Originally appeared: EatingWell.com, May 2023
Rate ItPrint
Nutrition Facts(per serving)480Calories28gFat56gCarbs9gProtein
Nutrition Facts(per serving)
- Daily Values (DVs) are the recommended amounts of nutrients to consume each day. Percent Daily Value (%DV) found on nutrition labels tells you how much a serving of a particular food or recipe contributes to each of those total recommended amounts. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the daily value is based on a standard 2,000 calorie diet. Depending on your calorie needs or if you have a health condition, you may need more or less of particular nutrients. (For example, it’s recommended that people following a heart-healthy diet eat less sodium on a daily basis compared to those following a standard diet.)
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a special diet for medical reasons, be sure to consult with your primary care provider or a registered dietitian to better understand your personal nutrition needs.
