Beef Rendang

Often referred to as the "king of curries". And for good reason -- beef rendang is rich, extravagant, and uniquely spiced. I had it once at Chalawan in Boston, and it was the highlight of the meal. Beef rendang is interesting in that it's traditionally a "dry" curry, which means that there isn't a lot of sauce. Though I do want to try making it again, with more of a wet curry approach. Apparently it's originally from Indonesia and now more associated with Malaysia.

Active Time: 45 min

Total Time: 3 hr


Ingredients

for spice paste:
> dried chilis, rehydrated in boiling water (or fresh) (12)
> onion (1 small, diced)
> garlic (5 cloves, minced)
> lemongrass stalks (3, white part only)
> galangal (1.5 tbsp, finely chopped)
> ginger (1.5 tbsp, minced)
> neutral oil (2 tbsp)
everything else:
> braising beef (2 lb)
> coconut milk (1 can)
> desiccated coconut (1/3 cup)
> cinnamon stick (1)
> star anise (3)
> cardamom powder (1/2 tsp)
> clove powder (1/2 tsp)
> lemongrass paste (1 tsp)
> tamarind paste (2 tsp)
> kaffir lime leaves (4)
> brown sugar (1 tbsp)
> sugar (1.5 tsp)


Instructions

1. Make the spice paste by processing everything together in a food processor until fine.
2. Brown the beef well in a large, heavy-bottom pot over high heat with some neutral oil. Set aside.
3. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the spice paste for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until it becomes "drier".
4. Add all the other ingredients except the beef, and stir until mixed together. Then add the beef, cover, and let simmer over low heat for 1.5 - 2 hours, depending on your beef. Stir occasionally for even cooking. At this point, it should be tender but not falling apart.
5. Uncover, increase the heat to medium, and let gently reduce for ~30 minutes, stirring frequently. The sauce should split somewhat and reduce to a sticky paste that coats the beef.
6. Remove from heat, serve with rice, and enjoy!


Notes/Tips:

> You can also use pre-made beef rendang curry paste. It probably won't have the same intensity of flavor but it's much easier, especially if you don't have a food processor or have trouble finding galangal.
> Beef rendang is traditionally a "dry curry", which means that the resulting beef does not have a lot of sauce -- the sauce thickens and coats the beef. I think it'd be interesting to try preparing this dish with a more "wet curry" approach to see how it turns out.
> Use any type of braising beef you prefer, but keep in mind that the oil will split. I prefer short rib and that's what I used this time, but the relatively high fat content meant that there was a LOT of rendered fat. Which isn't necessarily bad, just something to consider. For the purposes of this dish, the rendered fat is important -- it basically "fries" the beef and sauce mixture at the end and lends it that deep brown color.
> recipe is pretty much copied from https://www.recipetineats.com/beef-rendang/; it's a great reference