Beef rendang

Before you start

• a blender or a mortar for the paste
• about 3 hours at a low simmer, most of it unattended — but the last half hour needs watching
• beef shin, brisket or shoulder; anything lean turns to string

Ingredients

Serves 2 · dimmer marks are storecupboard

• 300gbeef shin — cut into big chunks — they shrink a long way
• 200mlcoconut milk
• 140gjasmine rice
• 30gdesiccated coconut — toasted and ground — kerisik, and the dish is thin without it
• 1 large handfulshallots, garlic and ginger
• 3lemongrass
• 8dried red chillies — soaked in hot water first
• 1 tspturmeric
• 4kaffir lime leaves
• 1 tbsptamarind paste
• 1 tbsppalm sugar

Method

7 steps

1. blend · 12m

   Shallots, garlic, ginger, the soaked chillies, two of the lemongrass stalks and the turmeric blended to a smooth paste with a splash of water. Lumpy paste never quite cooks out and you feel it in the finished sauce.

2. fry · 12m

   Paste fried in half the coconut milk over medium heat until it darkens and the oil begins to bead out at the edges, which takes longer than seems reasonable.

3. simmer · 2h 30m walk away

   Beef turned through it, the rest of the coconut milk, the remaining bruised lemongrass, lime leaves and 300ml of water in, lid ajar, at the barest bubble. Left alone apart from a stir every half hour.

4. grill · 7m

   Desiccated coconut toasted in a dry pan, moved constantly, until it is deep brown and smells nutty, then pounded to a coarse damp powder.

5. boil · 15m walk away

   Rice rinsed and on, lid, lowest heat.

6. simmer · 30m

   Lid off, kerisik, tamarind and palm sugar in, and the heat up a little. Now it is stirred almost continuously while the last of the liquid goes and the meat starts frying in the oil that separates out. It should end up dark, glossy and barely wet.

7. finish · 4m

   Rested off the heat for ten minutes before it is served with the rice. It is better the next day and better again the day after.