Beef rendang is an every day dish common to many places in Southeast Asia, most notably Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and some parts of Thailand.
The multitude of spices imbued in the beef give it a deep taste: both spicy but not hot. The spices, naturally, soften the beef. Amazing beef rendang (which can also be made with chicken) is melt-in-your-mouth!
Before you embark on this culinary pleasure, a word about one of the ingredients: galangal. A reader asked me what kind of spices she should stock in order to cook for her boyfriend – a fan of Thai food. One of the ingredients was galangal and although it is common in a lot of SE Asian dishes, it is not something you need to keep constantly in your cupboard.
You can find frozen galangal in some Asian stores and more importantly, there is galangal powder available now (for those of you in Canada, try the T&T stores). Substitute with about 1/2 tsp of the powder. Never substitute ginger for galangal - it's because galangal has an entirely different taste, "more spicy" according to my mother.
Typical ingredients to keep on hand include turmeric, coriander, ginger, garlic, fish sauce, chili paste and cumin.
Learn more about Asian vegetables and its myriad of colours and flavours in my previous articles.
Galangal is a member of the ginger family, known as kha in Thailand, lengkuas in Malaysia and laos in Indonesia. Much of it is water-packed and sold in jars, a substitute for fresh galangal.
If purchasing fresh pieces of this - which tends to resemble a light-coloured ginger root - be sure to check for the unwrinkled kind. Wrap it in a cloth and you can refrigerate it up to 2 weeks. Prepare by scraping off the skin and slice cross-wise.
By the way, galangal is never eaten raw but is a terrific addition to fish curries and soups.
MALAYSIAN BEEF RENDANG
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef or chicken, cut into chunks
- ½ a can of 400 ml coconut milk or milk from 1 coconut
Pound and blend the following into a fine paste:
- 6 to 8 red chilies (use less if you don't like it hot)
- 1 piece of belachan (shrimp paste)
- 10 shallots
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 ½ tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 10 candle nuts (or macadamia nuts)
- 3 tsp turmeric
- ½ inch ginger
- ½ inch galangal
- ½ inch tamarind
- 1 inch lemongrass
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt (or, to taste)
Method
- Marinate the meat in the paste that you've created with the 14 ingredients listed and the coconut milk. Leave for at least 1 hour.
- Put it all in a pot and stir fry until dry on low heat.
Serve with rice or a slaw. Other great greens to go with this include Green Papaya Salad, Mango Salad and Bean Sprout & Green Bean Salad and finish with some cooling Spring Drinks.
Other beef dishes to tempt you include BBQ Thai Steak, Thai Grilled Beef and Pork and my father's Malaysian Satay.
