Snuggled. And beef rendang.
I apologize; I’ve been away for a bit. For the first few days of my post-Christmas vacation I had a humdinger of a cold, and then Jim got it for the next few days, and then I decided that what we needed most—more than anything—was to lie down with each other and snuggle. So we snuggled for the last few days of our vacation. We’re still snuggling, actually, until Monday—Jim’s run out to the post office now and I figured I’d say hi.
When we’ve been able to pull away from each other long enough to get into the kitchen we’ve cooked up some of the best dishes we’ve ever made, though in the name of vacation, haven’t been photographing most of it. They’re all make-agains, so I’m sure you’ll someday hear all about them. For now, you can have one—a (albeit unphotogenic) braised Malaysian beef dish from Molly Stevens’ All About Braising—that we did happen to snap some photos of.
I was certain that this dish wouldn’t come out right; the spice paste was like, whoa intense, punch-you-in-the-nose lemongrass, onion, and chile. Our eyes were tearing up the minute I took the top off the food processor; though once the oil, the beef, and the coconut milk was added, I was sure it would turn out okay—edible, at least.
But then—ohh then—3 1/2 hours later, when everything had cooked down and mellowed and the flavors had married; when the coconut milk turned to curd and the beef was supremely tender and fragrant, I knew that it wouldn’t just be okay, it would be transcendent.
And it was. The flavor is almost indescribable but it’s damn, damn good. None of the overpowering ingredients give so much as a growl in the finished dish—it’s more a purr, a come hither murmur. Paired with some white rice, with some of the fragrant sauce poured over it, I couldn’t have asked for a cozier, more snuggly dish. So if you are hankering for some comfort on these last few days of your winter vacation (sick of Christmas ham and gingerbread), then here’s your dish. And if you want to invite me over for some, I promise I make for a good spoon.
Molly Stevens’ Beef Rendang
from All About Braising
For the spice paste:
- 4-6 dried red chiles, such as chile de arbol
- 2 lemongrass stalks, woody tops, root ends, and outer layers removed, fragrant 4-inch cores coarsely chopped
- 4 small shallots, coarsely chopped (scant ½ cup)
- 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
- One 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
- One 2-inch piece of fresh turmeric, peeled and coarsely chopped, or ½ teaspoon ground
- One 2-inch piece of fresh galangal, peeled and coarsely chopped (optional—and left out by me)
- Pinch of coarse salt
For the braise:
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 3 whole star anise
- 5 cardamon pods
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2½ pounds boneless beef chuck or brisket, but into 1½ to 2-inch cubes
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- Coarse salt
- 2½ to 3 cups unsweetened coconut milk, or as needed
- 4 fresh kaffir lime leaves (optional—and left out by me)
Combine the chiles, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and galangal (if using) in a blender, small food processor, or mortar and pestle. Season with salt. Grind the spices to a coarse paste, adding 3 to 4 tablespoons of water as necessary if the flavorings are too dry to grind. Be sure to grind thoroughly; too many fibers or chunk will be unpleasant in the finished dish.
Heat the oil in a wok or large deep skillet over medium-low heat. Add the spice paste and fry, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon, until the paste appears a bit glossy as the oil begins to separate out of it, 3 to 8 minutes. (If you added water to grind the paste, this will take longer.) Add the star anise, cardamon, and cinnamon and stir to combine. Add the beef and stir to coat the meat evenly with the paste. Season with the sugar and a healthy pinch of salt.
Pour in enough coconut milk to just cover the beef and stir to blend the paste into the milk. Bring to a gentle simmer, and braise, uncovered*, until the meat is almost tender, about 2½ hours. Stir the beef every 20-30 minutes, and check that the simmer remains quiet—there should be occasional bubbled but certainly not a torrent. If necessary, lower the heat or place the pan on a heat diffuser The color of the coconut milk will darken to a light milk chocolate color as it absorbs the beef juices.
As the liquid reduces to a thick paste, stir in the lime leaves, if using, and continue braising, monitoring the pan more closely. Eventually a clear oil will separate out from the paste, When this happens, stir more frequently, and then fry the beef in the oil until it becomes mahogany brown, another 45-60 minutes. During this last stage, you may want to retrieve the whole spices when you spy them since you may not want to but down on them unknowingly.
If you’ve used chuck, there will be as much as 1/3 cup clear oil in the pan when the rendang is done; brisket will give off less. Either way, spoon off and discard** as much oil as your care to. Don’t be afrais to leave a bit for flavor. Stir and taste for salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.
*I half-covered the pan for most of the cooking time.
**This oil is delicious drizzled on white rice.
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January 3rd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I love the sound of this. I tend to be a lamb girl when it comes to curry but this might just change my mind. Lovely. :)
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:10 pm
You know, Robin, I think it’s unfair that you get to have a snuggle buddy AND eat this delicious dish. Share some loving :)
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I grew up eating Malay food so I’m kind of surprised with the lack of shredded coconut (which is what I think makes rendang a rendang), but this looks really good (and minus the shredded coconut cholesterol too!). Might just try it some point.
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:37 pm
January 3rd, 2009 at 4:53 pm
I marked this one in the cookbook…looks SO good. Glad it turned out well and hope you’re feeling better.
January 3rd, 2009 at 6:42 pm
What a great way to spend your vacation!!! That dish looks great Robin. Glad you both are feeling better!
January 3rd, 2009 at 10:50 pm
Hey Robin:
Yes, it has both coconut milk AND shredded coconut milk. There’s an authentic recipe on http://www.rasamalaysia.com
It probably isn’t as good for you as this recipe, but it’s definitely more authentic — if you’re willing to put in the hours on the treadmill!
January 4th, 2009 at 11:50 am
I totally get that need to snuggle- we ended up doing that recently…forget everything else and just spoon. It was divine.
This dish looks awesome and totally bursting with flavor. I may have to try this one.
January 4th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
January 4th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
mmm, i love beef rendang and never thought to make it at home. delish.
January 4th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Happy New Year, Happy Snuggling and Happy Recipes-That-Turn-Out-Better-Than-Expected! All the best to you in 2009, Robin.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:04 am
I am all over this. Braising is a method I want to try more of, and the start of a new year is the perfect opportunity. And oh my goodness I’m obsessed with coconut milk. I simply cannot wait to try this.
January 5th, 2009 at 11:59 am
Humm…
This might take a great pair with a portuguese wine named Cortello from the region of “Dão Sul”
I’m pretty sure that you can find this one in a near by “Wall Mart”
:)
January 5th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
Now, I’m typically a lamb curry type of gal, but I am slowly becoming a fan of all types of braising (plus I’m a whore for coconut). After looking at these photos, what I really want to do is go at some of that leftover rendang sauce with a nice crusty piece of french bread slathered in butter. Lucky me there is a computer in the way. But I’m not gonna lie…I might have drooled a bit on the keyboard. Ain’t no shame in my game!
January 5th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
I love braised beef and coconut curry! Looks just lovely!:)
January 6th, 2009 at 1:07 am
I really like the color of this. The color makes it even more enticing in my mind, yum!
January 6th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I just bought that book!
Snuggling is the BEST.
That spice paste sounds like a close second. ;)
January 6th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
Himself was reading over my shoulder, and said I’d get a snuggle if we made that! So this one is definitely on my list to try. I can just imagine the way your home must have filled with aroma as this was braising.
January 8th, 2009 at 1:47 am
Not gonna lie, some of the pictures look like somebody took a dump on a bowl of rice. Thats all I’m saying.
January 8th, 2009 at 1:49 am
Welcome back! Glad you’re coming around, health-wise. We’ve avoided the ick thusfar, knock on wood.
Nice looking beef, too. Yum.
January 8th, 2009 at 5:40 am
Damn 3 1/2 hours of braising… I can only imagine how tender it was.
January 12th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Beef Randang is so good. SO funny because when I was making the paste, I thought the same thing. A surprisinlgy excellent dish indeed.
January 12th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
Oh this sounds so fabulous, all the flavors…I just planted a kaffir lime tree (it’s actually a bush) in my yard last month in SoCal. I haven’t used the leaves yet, but I plan to, soon, maybe in this dish??
And I tried one of the fruits, it was so sour it made my teeth hurt. I am not sure there is any use for those wrinkled limes. Do you know?
So – after wandering around your blog, I realize I’ve been here before. I don’t know how you fell off my radar, your blog is terrific. See you soon!
Lori Lynn
March 17th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
[...] The rendang was still fine without it but I’ll add them next time! Oh, and one more thing, I read that the oil that’s skimmed off is delicious on rice and so we tried it a little… and [...]