Indonesian · main

Rendang Daging (Minang Beef Fried in Its Own Spice Paste)

Rendang Daging (Minang Beef Fried in Its Own Spice Paste) reads richness 6.7, sweetness 6.1 and nutty 5.1 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Indonesian main, about 4 hr 39 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Richness 6.7 · Sweetness 6.1 · Nutty 5.1 · Umami 5.0 · Allium 4.3 · Salinity 4.1 · Citrus 3.3 · Herbaceous 2.9 · Fruity 2.6 · Warm Spice 2.5 · Earthy 2.2 · Heat 1.8 · Bitterness 1.5 · Floral 1.2 · Sourness 1.0

What's in it (14)

Time & effort: about 4 hr 39 min (4 hr 24 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 106.7 kcal, 1.4 g protein, 10.2 g fat, 4.2 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (8 steps)

  1. Make the kerisik first. Toast the grated coconut in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring constantly, until it is dark brown and smells like toffee, then pound it in a mortar until the oil comes out and it collapses into a dark, greasy paste. This is a separate ingredient from the coconut milk and it does a different job: it thickens and deepens the final stage.
  2. Blend the chillies, shallots, garlic, galangal, ginger and turmeric with the ground coriander into a smooth paste using a little of the coconut milk.
  3. Put the paste, all the coconut milk, the lemongrass, turmeric leaves, kaffir lime leaves and salt in a very wide heavy pan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring in one direction until it comes up. Add the beef.
  4. STAGE ONE, SIMMER. Cook uncovered at a steady simmer for about 90 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes. The liquid is thin and white and behaves like a soup. Do not cover the pan; the entire dish is an evaporation and a lid stops it happening.
  5. STAGE TWO, KALIO. Over the next 45 minutes the liquid reduces to a thick pale-brown gravy that coats the meat and the stirring gets heavier. Stop here and you have kalio, which is a real dish in its own right and what many Western recipes deliver while calling it rendang. Stir in the kerisik now.
  6. STAGE THREE, THE FRY. Keep going. Somewhere in the next 30 minutes the emulsion breaks: the coconut milk releases its oil, a clear layer appears, and the sound in the pan changes from a wet blip to a dry sizzle. From this moment you are no longer simmering, you are frying the beef in coconut oil and the thickened paste that clings to it. Stir constantly now, scraping the base every minute, for a further 45 to 60 minutes. The paste darkens from brown to near-black, coats the meat in a dry crust, and the smell turns from coconut to roasted and nutty.
  7. It is finished when there is no free liquid at all, the meat is dark, dry and shreddable, and the oil has mostly been reabsorbed into the coating. Total cooking time is 3.5 to 4 hours and it cannot be shortened. A properly dried rendang was originally a preservation method and keeps for weeks unrefrigerated; a wet one keeps for days, which is the practical test of which dish you actually made. Rest 15 minutes and serve at room temperature with rice.
  8. Substitutions: chuck can stand in for the beef shin.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Keep reading: what richness, sweetness, nutty mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

See how this dish fits your palate — take the short taste test →

Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.