In 2011, the authenticity taste of rendang gained worldwide recognition, and it was crowned as the world’s most delicious food on “readers-choice-worlds-50-most-delicious-foods-012321,” the list issued by cnngo.com. Let’s find out about it.

Rendang ( hot and spicy beef curry) is a signature dish from Padang, a region in West Sumatra Island, and has become a traditional cuisine in Indonesia, especially during Eid-al-Fitr (end of Ramadhan) celebration. Oftentimes, each region adds different ingredients to season the rendang. However, the main spice ingredients are the same.

Rendang is often served with steamed rice, ketupat or kupat (a compressed rice cake), and lemang (made from glutinous rice, coconut milk and salt, and cooked in a hollowed out bamboo stick lined with banana leaves), accompanied with other side dishes such as opor (a chicken curry), sambal goreng ati (chicken liver and gizzard in spicy coconut milk), tumis kacang panjang (long bean stir fry), and of course, topped with sambal bajak (a very spicy but sweet chili).

 

Bahan-bahan – Ingredients (makes 20 pieces of beef rendang)

1,000 gr	Daging sapi – daging sengkel	stew meat
2,250 cc or …	Santan kelapa dari 3 butir kelapa tua	Coconut milk (use 3 mature coconuts)
48 gr or …	4 batang sereh, memarkan	4 stalks Lemon grass, crushed
2 gr or …	2 buah Asam kandis	2 pcs gamboge tree”, “egg tree”, “sour magosteen”, “conchin-goraka”
12 gr or …	2 lembar daun kunyit	2 pcs Turmeric leaves, twisted into knots
10 gr or …	10 lembar jeruk Jeruk purut	10 pcs Kaffir lime leaves

 

Bumbu – Ground spices ingredients

225 gr  or …	15 Butir bawang merah	15 bulbs shallots
12 gr or …	5-6 Siung bawang putih	5-6 cloves garlic
250 gr	Cabe merah segar	Fresh red chilies
3 tsp	3 Sendok teh  garam	3 teaspoons Salt
28 gr or 4 cm	Jahe	Ginger
40 gr or 4 cm	Laos	Galangal
15 gr or 3 cm	Kunyit (secukupnya)	Turmeric (to taste)

 

INDONESIAN

Cara membuat

1. Potong daging menjadi 20 potong.
2. Masukkan santan, daging, bumbu yang sudah dihaluskan, asam kandis, batang serai, daun kunyit dan daun jeruk purut ke dalam wajan.
3. Masak sambil diaduk-aduk hingga mendidih, kecilkan apinya.
4. Teruskan memasak sambil sekali-sekali diaduk hingga daging empuk.
5. Bila daging sudah empuk tapi kuahnya belum kental, angkat dulu dagingnya
6. Teruskan memasak kuah dengan terus mengaduk-aduk supaya tidak berkerak di dasar wajan
7. Setelah kuah mengental, berwarna coklat dan berminyak, masukkan kembali daging ke dalam wajan.
8. Aduk-aduk sebentar, keluarkan asam kandis.
9. Bila kekentalan rendang sudah sesuai selera, kering atau basah; angkat.

Catatan:

• Untuk membuat rendang yang bagus, gunakan santan kelapa segar, pilih kelapa yang tua, 500 gram peras murni tanpa air dan dibutuhkan 1500 ml.
• Bila menggunakan santan instan 1500 ml, langsung dicampur dengan bumbu halus yang sudah ditumis
• Supaya daging cepat empuk, gunakan daging haas. Setelah santan kental, keluarkan daging.
• Di beberapa daerah di Sumatra Barat, ada rendang yang bumbunya diberi tambahan rempah seperti bumbu kari.
• Bila suka bisa ditambahkan satu sendok makan bumbu kari, tergantung selera.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsIHWG8wdTk

 

ENGLISH

Directions

1. Cut meat into 20 1-inch pieces.
2. Pour in the coconut milk into a pan/wok, and then add the spice paste (ground spices), lemon grass, “asam kandis,” turmeric leaves, and kaffir lime leaves into a pan/wok.
3. While stirring, bring to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-low.
4. Stir occasionally until the meat is fork-tender.
5. Should the sauce take longer to thicken, remove the meat.
6. Continue to stir to make sure the sauce does not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan/wok, and take out the “asam kandis” (gamboge tree”, “egg tree”, “sour magosteen”, “conchin-goraka”).
7. After the sauce thickens and is dark brown and oily, put the meat back into the pan/wok.
8. Stir the meat and the sauce until well-blended, and take out the “asam kandis” (gamboge tree”, “egg tree”, “sour magosteen”, “conchin-goraka”).
9. Continue cooking until thickened to your liking, dry or a little bit wet, and then remove from the heat.

Note:

• To make a good “rendang”, you need 1500 ml coconut milk from mature coconuts. Make two batches. For the first batch, make 500 ml of fresh coconut milk, no water added, from the grated coconut, and put it aside. Then, make a second batch, adding water to the rest of the grated coconut, to make another 1000 ml of coconut milk.
• If you use canned coconut milk, sautée the ground spices first.
• Use beef tenderloin if you want to cook faster and to have rich and tender “rendang” meat.
• In several areas of West Sumatra, it is optional to add Indonesian curry paste.
• If you want, you can add ½ to 1 tablespoon of Indonesian curry paste (to taste).

 

 

COMPOSITION AND COOKING METHOD

The rendang cooking technique and ingredients play a big role in preserving meat in the tropical climate. The spices, like garlic, shallot, ginger, and galangal, used in rendang have antimicrobial properties and serve as natural, organic preservatives. The slow cooking method used allows the meat pieces to slowly absorb the spices and the coconut milk.  As a result, the generous use of spices, combined with the slow cooking method, gives the rendang a rich, flavorful, and unique taste. It is no wonder that rendang is crowned as the world’s most delicious food.

KETUPAT (a compressed rice cake)

Ketupat is a compressed rice cake cooked in coconut leaves. The coconut leaves are woven in a crisscross fashion to form a pouch, which is then filled with rice before cooking. The easiest way to have it is by purchasing a ready-made ketupat casing in the traditional market. You can see how to make a ketupat casing and cook the ketupat from the following videos:

How to wave ketupat casing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJ4wxJmrg80

How to fill a ketupat casing with uncooked rice

Ketupat has a unique taste, as the coconut leaves flavor the rice cake. As a complete dish, ketupat is served alongside main dishes such as rendang and sate or satay.

Happy Cooking and Enjoy!