Hairy Bikers Beef Rendang

The lid never goes on this beef rendang from the Hairy Bikers, because the whole dish is a three-hour reduction. Chuck steak simmers slowly in coconut milk and a fresh spice paste until dark and glossy, so this Meat Feasts curry serves 6 at around 760 calories in about 3½ hours.

That patience is what made its name, since the book says it was one of the most popular dishes on their Best of British series. It is an Indonesian speciality really, and the coconut, tamarind, and lime leaves are what set it apart from every other curry on the site.

Everything starts with the paste though, because lemongrass, red onion, garlic, ginger, galangal, and whole chillies get blitzed fresh rather than spooned from a jar. Fry that gently before the beef goes near it, and the base flavour is already deeper than most curries ever reach.

Hairy Bikers Beef Rendang Recipe

Author: Alex Saidani Cooking Method:Simmering Cuisine:British Indonesian Courses:Dinner

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 25 minutesCook time:3 hours Rest time: minutesTotal time:3 hours 25 minutesServings:6 servingsCalories:760 kcal Best Season:Summer

Description

A fresh paste of lemongrass, red onion, garlic, ginger, galangal, and red chillies fries gently with cumin, coriander, and turmeric. Cubed chuck steak coats in it, then simmers uncovered in coconut milk with kaffir lime leaves, cinnamon, tamarind, and soy for up to three hours, until meltingly tender under a thick, glossy sauce.

Ingredients

For the Spice Paste

• 2 lemongrass stalks, dry outer leaves removed, roughly chopped
• 3 red onions, quartered
• 6 garlic cloves
• 25g fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 75g galangal, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 plump red chillies, roughly chopped without deseeding

For the Curry

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tbsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1.5kg chuck steak, trimmed and cut into 3cm cubes
• 400ml can coconut milk
• 4 fresh kaffir lime leaves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tbsp soft light brown sugar or palm sugar
• 2 tsp tamarind paste or freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• Toasted coconut flakes, to serve (optional)
• Flaked sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Blitz the paste: Put the lemongrass, onions, garlic, ginger, galangal, and chillies in a food processor, then blend to a fine paste. Push the mixture down with a spatula a couple of times until it reaches the right consistency.
2. Fry the paste: Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole and fry the paste gently for 3-4 minutes, stirring continuously. Add the cumin, coriander, and turmeric, then cook for another 2 minutes.
3. Coat the beef: Add the beef and stir to coat it in the paste and spices, then cook for 5 minutes until very lightly coloured all over.
4. Add the liquids: Pour in the coconut milk and 400ml cold water, then add the lime leaves, cinnamon, sugar, tamarind, soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring everything to a simmer.
5. Reduce for hours: Simmer gently, uncovered, for 2½-3 hours until the meat is meltingly tender and the sauce thick and glossy. Stir occasionally early on, then more often near the end so the reducing coconut milk does not stick.
6. Finish and serve: Season to taste, then pick out the lime leaves and cinnamon stick. Serve sprinkled with toasted coconut flakes, with jasmine rice and greens alongside.

FAQs

Is there a quicker Hairy Bikers rendang?

Yes, their Everyday Winners book has a Quick Beef Rendang that trades 3 hours for about 30 minutes. It sears sliced bavette steak in a wok, then reduces the coconut milk fast, which the book describes as rendang flavour at balti speed.

Choose by the meat really, since bavette wants speed while chuck wants hours. This slow version is the deeper one, so save the quick one for weeknights.

Why does it simmer uncovered for so long?

The reduction is the dish, because rendang is defined by coconut milk cooking down until the sauce clings dark and almost dry to the beef. A lid would trap the steam and leave you with a soupy coconut stew instead.

Those hours also break down the chuck steak completely, so the meat ends up soft enough to cut with a spoon.

What is galangal, and what if I cannot find it?

Galangal looks like ginger but tastes sharper and more citrussy, and this recipe uses a hefty 75g of it in the paste. Larger supermarkets and any Asian grocer stock it fresh or frozen.

If it defeats you, extra root ginger fills the gap without ruining the dish, though the flavour loses a little of its edge. The same blitz-and-fry paste trick powers their chicken bhuna, so the technique is worth mastering either way.

Can I make rendang ahead of time?

The book actively recommends it, since the method says the curry is even better made the day before. Cook it 15 minutes less, cool it quickly in a shallow dish, then keep it covered in the fridge.

Reheat it slowly the next day until piping hot, stirring just enough to spread the heat, because rough stirring breaks the soft meat apart. Their beef stifado rewards exactly the same patience, so batch cooks should try both.

How spicy is this, and is rendang Indonesian or Malaysian?

Three whole chillies blitzed in without deseeding give it a proper warmth, though the coconut and slow cooking round it off rather than letting it burn. Deseed the chillies for a gentler pot, or go the other way with an extra one.

On origin, the book calls it an Indonesian speciality, and it began with the Minangkabau people of Sumatra, though Malaysia loves and claims it too. If you want the creamy, gentler end of the curry world instead, their butter chicken simmers in ghee, tomatoes, and double cream.