Meet the “World’s Greatest Dish,” Based on 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, reminiscent of galangal, lemongrass, and ginger. Rendang takes three to 4 hours to arrange, however it’s value 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 making ready a coconut-based dish with components from Indian curries after Indian merchants launched their delicacies to the area. The Minangkabau individuals began making ready the dish with no matter proteins have been plentiful of their area, particularly beef and buffalo, together with duck and seafood reminiscent of eel and scallops.

Over the centuries, that dish has handed by way of many lands, fingers, and generations, and has developed into the rendang that many Indonesians know and love at this time. There are as many rendang recipes as there are cooks, and the substances, spice stage, and sauciness of the dish will differ relying on who’s making ready it. The one fixed is the cooking approach: 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 method 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 sizzling, tropical local weather. This was particularly essential 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 at this time, rendang continues to be prepped and stored on the prepared at room temperature, typically for a complete day, in order that relations can eat the dish at their comfort. Greater than an enduring meals, rendang can also be a lesson in persistence, persistence, and cooking instinct, all of that are required for making a very scrumptious model. At present, rendang is taken into account a meals of honor all throughout Indonesia and should 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 beneath, I name for boneless beef chuck roast, although different boneless cuts with good connective tissue and marbling additionally work nicely. Though beef is prevalent, rendang is commonly 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 creator of the cookbook Rendang, Maureen Tan. She encourages residence cooks to make use of no matter is on the market to them, together with goat, rooster, or starchy cassava and plantains. Each Tan and I like to make use of bone-in cuts like beef quick rib or lamb shank. No matter which minimize of meat you employ, be sure you minimize it into cubes which can be about 1 1/2 to 2 inches—this dimension is sufficiently small to change into meltingly tender throughout the sluggish braise however giant sufficient to not utterly collapse throughout that point.

Make a Spice Paste for Rendang

Spice pastes known as bumbu bumbu, that are usually made with garlic, shallots, candlenuts (a high-fat nut just like macadamia nuts), and different aromatics, are the muse of many Indonesian dishes. Every one is called for its coloration and so they can all be simply personalized relying on what you’re making. Yellow bumbu dasar kuning will get its vivid hue and earthy taste from turmeric and is used to arrange soto ayam, a comforting rooster noodle soup, and ayam goreng kunyit, turmeric-fried rooster. Pink bumbu dasar merah serves as the bottom for beef rendang, and although the spices used differ, they usually embrace a mixture 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, recent 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 leads to a extra evenly textured paste.  Don’t fear if the paste just isn’t completely easy—the substances will soften and break down throughout cooking. 

Coconut Is Key

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

An Simpler Solution to Make Beef Rendang

Making rendang is easy however sluggish going. In the event you’re making ready it on the range, as is conventional, it’s completely important to stir always to stop it from burning whereas nonetheless permitting the coconut milk to slowly caramelize. After years of constructing rendang, nevertheless, 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 component. Getting ready rendang within the oven means the warmth is extra mild and even, which interprets into much less stirring. 

Whether or not cooked completely on the stovetop or within the oven after which on the range, the dish goes by way of three levels of cooking. After an hour of simmering, when the substances are totally 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 concerning 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 types puddles of oil on the floor of the thick, darkish reddish-brown gravy. (The rendang will be served a this level, however I encourage you to maintain going to realize the most effective dish.)

No matter which methodology you employ, as soon as the puddles of oil have fashioned, the rendang should be cooked on the stovetop and stirred repeatedly to stop the underside from burning. The ultimate stage of essentially the most conventional Minangkabau model of rendang is reached when a lot of the gravy has decreased 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 residence cooks typically say that the drier the rendang, the longer it retains with out refrigeration, typically as much as months. 

For Tan, it’s figuring out how you can “merendang” correctly that issues. She reiterates that rendang is each a dish and a cooking approach, identical to braising. So long as you make an amazing rendang bumbu and sauce, you should use no matter protein you want and you will have an extremely scrumptious rendang. And with persistence, persistence, and honed instinct, you, too, can change into a wonderful rendang cook dinner.