Rendang, explained: the slow-cooked dish from West Sumatra
Rendang is meat simmered for hours in coconut milk and spices until almost dry. That patience is what gives it its colour, flavour and shelf life.
Photo: Irfanpule / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Rendang comes from the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra. It is usually made with beef, though chicken, duck, egg and jackfruit versions are common. In 2011 it topped an online reader poll of the world's most delicious foods run by CNN Travel, which helped make it famous far beyond Indonesia.
How it is made
Cooks grind a spice paste of shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, turmeric and chillies, then simmer it with coconut milk, lemongrass and aromatic leaves such as turmeric and kaffir lime leaves. The meat goes in and the pot is stirred, often for several hours, as the liquid slowly reduces.
As the coconut milk evaporates, its oil separates and begins to fry the meat and spices. That is what turns rendang dark brown and gives it a deep, caramelised flavour.
Kalio or rendang?
Stop cooking while there is still a thick sauce and you have kalio, which is popular in many Padang restaurants. Keep going until the pot is nearly dry and you have rendang in the traditional sense.
Food that travels
Fully cooked dry rendang keeps well, which made it a practical food for Minangkabau men who left home to work or trade in other regions, a tradition known as merantau. Today it is a fixture at Eid celebrations, weddings and nasi Padang counters across Indonesia and Malaysia.
