Rendang Daging Rembau

I am back after four days of being treated like queen.  Before that I was drooling over Travelling Foodie's Rendang Daging Rembau.  This guy seriously can cook well.

With hubby accompanying to the wet market, I managed to get 2kg of beef for this dish.

Went home and then realized that I ran out of some ingredients.  Didn't have a chance to cook as soon after, I was down and out for four days.

When I got admitted to the A&E, the doctor was telling me that I got to keep down.  She actually can tell that I am a hyper person.  Strange isn't it?

The past four days, though in pain, I was glad that I was doing nothing.  Hubby commented I looked refresh after I got discharged! LOLz.

Anyway, with all the ingredients ready, I didn't want to keep that 2kg beef in the freezer for too long.

So here is Rendang Daging Rembau that I finally got to taste it.

Though the list seems long, it wasn't that difficult to prepare at all.  This time I used charcoal to slowly braise it and the result was a melt in the mouth rendang.  Just awesome.

Give it a try if you are craving for something spicy.  I tone down the chilli padi as my son is starting to acquire spicy food and I don't want it to have too much heat for the time being.

What you need:

Ingredients (A)

2 kg, cut into large chunks (1kg lean beef and 1kg beef shank)
750g thick coconut milk (santan)
5 stalks lemongrass, halved and crushed
Salt to taste
5 tbsp of cooking oil
20g gula melaka

Ingredients (B)

Blended spices (the equivalent of 1 tbsp marsala powder)
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 cardamom
3 cloves
1/2 inch cinnamon
1 star anise, seeds removed

Ingredients (C)

Blended ingredients

25g red bird’s eye chilli (I tone this down, orginal was 50g)
4-5cm turmeric, sliced thinly
4-5 cm galangal, sliced thinly
8 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
25 shallots, sliced thinly
60g dried chilli, soaked in hot water and blended to form “cili boh“

Ingredients (D)
200g freshly-grated coconut, dry roasted and pounded to make kerisik (I pounded this really fine as I didn't want to have that "grass" feel)

Method

Firstly, place all spices in Ingredients (B) in a frying pan and lightly toast for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Then place in blender and blend until fine, then sift. (You can omitted this if you used store bought garam marsala powder instead)

Place Ingredients (C) in a blender with some water and blend to obtain a fine paste.

In a large wok, first dry fry (C) WITHOUT adding oil to evaporate away most of the water used in the blending process. When the paste is sufficiently dry, add cooking oil, Ingredients (B), as well as crushed lemongrass in (A). Sautee the blended spices over low heat until fragrant.

Add beef chunks and stir until well combined and dry.

Stir in coconut milk and top up with water until beef chunks are completely submerged. Cook over medium low heat until sauce is thick. This will take approximately 1 1/2 hours – 2 hours. Stir occasionally to avoid the sauce from sticking to the pan.

Meanwhile, prepare kerisik by toasting freshly grated coconut in Ingredients (D) until lightly brown. Pound toasted grated coconut to release the oils and set aside.

When the beef is almost done, stir in kerisik until well incorporated and season with salt and raw jaggery sugar. Continue to simmer until beef is completely tender.

Serve warm with hot rice.

Want to join me?