Meet the “World’s Greatest Dish,” In keeping with CNN Readers

In 2011, CNN polled readers on the world’s best foods. The winner of their survey? Beef rendang, an Indonesian dish of beef sluggish cooked in coconut milk with turmeric, coriander, and different hallmark Southeast Asian aromatics, corresponding to galangal, lemongrass, and ginger. Rendang takes three to 4 hours to organize, however it’s price each minute. The meat is succulent and meltingly tender, its taste is redolent with aromatic makrut lime leaves and lemongrass, and chiles give every chew a heat, delicate warmth.

All About Rendang

Students on the College of Surya in Indonesia have traced the origins of the rendang to the eighth century. They hypothesize that the Minangkabau individuals (sometimes called the Minangs) in West Sumatra started getting ready a coconut-based dish with parts from Indian curries after Indian merchants launched their delicacies to the area. The Minangkabau individuals began getting ready the dish with no matter proteins have been considerable of their area, particularly beef and buffalo, together with duck and seafood corresponding to eel and scallops.

Over the centuries, that dish has handed by many lands, fingers, and generations, and has advanced into the rendang that many Indonesians know and love as we speak. There are as many rendang recipes as there are cooks, and the elements, spice degree, and sauciness of the dish will differ relying on who’s getting ready it. The one fixed is the cooking method: The phrase “rendang” is derived from “merendang,” which refers to a method of sluggish cooking protein in coconut milk and spices till the liquid caramelizes. 

This system achieves two issues: First, it breaks down the meat’s connective tissue and collagen, making it extraordinarily tender. Second, it removes extra moisture from the meat and the sauce—this partially dehydrates the dish, serving to to protect it for weeks in Indonesia’s scorching, tropical local weather. This was particularly necessary earlier than refrigeration was frequent.

The Minangkabau persons are historically “perantau” or wanderers. Up to now, they packed rendang on their travels, because the meal was excellent sustenance for lengthy journeys from West Sumatra to the neighboring provinces of Riau and Jambi, and even throughout the Malacca Strait to Malaysia, spreading the dish and different Minang meals throughout the area.

Though refrigeration is frequent as we speak, rendang continues to be prepped and stored on the prepared at room temperature, generally for a whole day, in order that members of the family can eat the dish at their comfort. Greater than a long-lasting food, rendang can be a lesson in endurance, persistence, and cooking instinct, all of that are required for making a very scrumptious model. In the present day, rendang is taken into account a meals of honor all throughout Indonesia and have to be ready for particular events like Lebaran (Eid al-Fitr), coronations, weddings, and different feasts and festivals. 

Rendang is most frequently made with beef, and in my recipe under, I name for boneless beef chuck roast, although different boneless cuts with good connective tissue and marbling additionally work properly. Though beef is prevalent, rendang is usually nonetheless made with different proteins, simply because it was centuries in the past. After I was engaged on this recipe, I chatted with Amsterdam-based chef and writer of the cookbook Rendang, Maureen Tan. She encourages dwelling cooks to make use of no matter is on the market to them, together with goat, hen, or starchy cassava and plantains. Each Tan and I like to make use of bone-in cuts like beef brief rib or lamb shank. No matter which reduce of meat you employ, make sure to reduce it into cubes which can be about 1 1/2 to 2 inches—this measurement is sufficiently small to turn out to be meltingly tender through the sluggish braise however massive sufficient to not utterly collapse throughout that point.

How you can Make a Spice Paste for Rendang

Spice pastes referred to as bumbu bumbu, that are sometimes made with garlic, shallots, candlenuts (a high-fat nut just like macadamia nuts), and different aromatics, are the muse of many Indonesian dishes. Each is called for its colour and so they can all be simply custom-made relying on what you’re making. Yellow bumbu dasar kuning will get its vivid hue and earthy taste from turmeric and is used to organize soto ayam, a comforting hen noodle soup, and ayam goreng kunyit, turmeric-fried hen. Crimson bumbu dasar merah serves as the bottom for beef rendang, and although the spices used differ, they sometimes embrace a mix of white peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, lengthy pepper, cloves, and cassia bark (versus true Ceylon cinnamon) together with the usual bumbu bumbu base of garlic, shallots, and different aromatics. Some cooks in inland areas make rendang with only a paste of shallots, garlic, candlenuts, and chiles and do with out different spices and aromatics—the result’s a stew that’s much less fragrant than coastal varieties however nonetheless scrumptious.

To make the spice paste for my rendang, I incorporate floor coriander seeds and turmeric into a mix of shallots, contemporary pink finger-length chiles, galangal, ginger, garlic, and candlenuts. Although that is historically ready utilizing a mortar and pestle, I exploit my meals processor, which is quicker and ends in a extra evenly textured paste.  Don’t fear if the paste will not be completely clean—the elements will soften and break down throughout cooking. 

Coconut Is Key

Coconut milk performs an important function in rendang. For a wealthy rendang with superbly caramelized—not burnt—sugars, it’s important to make use of a great full-fat coconut milk. Personally, I like Thai manufacturers (corresponding to Aroy-D or Chaokoh) as a result of they style and odor closest to the freshly-extracted stuff generally utilized in Southeast Asia, however a lot of my Indonesian pals want Indonesian-made Kara model merchandise. Any of those or different full-fat coconut milks will likely be fantastic for rendang—simply keep away from utilizing low-fat or mild coconut milk. Some cooks, together with Tan, like so as to add kelapa gongseng (also called kerisik or ambu ambu) to their rendang—this brown, shiny paste comprised of toasted grated coconut provides physique and a deep, nutty taste to the dish. As an attention-grabbing aspect word, coconut oil (which is current in coconut milk) accommodates lauric acid, a medium-chain fatty acid with antibacterial properties that will lengthen the shelf lifetime of meals.

An Simpler Strategy to Make Beef Rendang

Making rendang is straightforward however sluggish going. In case you’re getting ready it on the range, as is conventional, it’s completely important to stir continually to forestall it from burning whereas nonetheless permitting the coconut milk to slowly caramelize. After years of creating rendang, nonetheless, I’ve found a way that requires much less effort however produces a dish that’s simply as flavorful: Cooking it within the oven and ending it on the stovetop. When cooked on the stovetop, the rendang is extra liable to scorching as a result of the warmth is concentrated on the backside of the pot from the flame or heating aspect. Getting ready rendang within the oven means the warmth is extra mild and even, which interprets into much less stirring. 

Whether or not cooked fully on the stovetop or within the oven after which on the range, the dish goes by three phases of cooking. After an hour of simmering, when the elements are absolutely cooked and the sauce is effervescent, the dish has reached the “gulai” stage: The combination continues to be soupy and resembles a skinny yellow curry just like Vietnamese- or Chinese language-style curries. At in regards to the two-hour mark, the “kalio” stage is reached, about two-thirds of the way in which to rendang. At this level, the oil splits from the coconut milk and kinds puddles of oil on the floor of the thick, darkish reddish-brown gravy. (The rendang might be served a this level, however I encourage you to maintain going to realize the perfect dish.)

No matter which technique you employ, as soon as the puddles of oil have shaped, the rendang have to be cooked on the stovetop and stirred repeatedly to forestall the underside from burning. The ultimate stage of probably the most conventional Minangkabau model of rendang is reached when a lot of the gravy has diminished and the meat has absorbed all of the flavors of the sauce. The small quantity of liquid left seems very oily from the fats left behind and is a really darkish brown. That is when it is able to serve. Indonesian dwelling cooks usually say that the drier the rendang, the longer it retains with out refrigeration, generally as much as months. 

For Tan, it’s realizing easy methods to “merendang” correctly that issues. She reiterates that rendang is each a dish and a cooking method, identical to braising. So long as you make an ideal rendang bumbu and sauce, you should utilize no matter protein you want and you will have an extremely scrumptious rendang. And with endurance, persistence, and honed instinct, you, too, can turn out to be a wonderful rendang prepare dinner.