Rendang (Indonesian Beef and Coconut Stew)

Ingredients

• •2 cloves garlic
• •4 shallots
• •25 g ginger
• •15 g turmeric
• •75 g young galangal
• •1 tbsp ground fresh red chile pepper
• •1 tsp black pepper
• •½ pod dried nutmeg
• •2 candlenuts
• •½ tbsp salt
• •1 tbsp gula jawa (Indonesian palm sugar )
• •1 kg beef , cut into big cubes to make 20 pieces
• •4 lime leaves
• •1 stalk lemongrass
• •2 L ready-to-use coconut milk or coconut milk from 1 big fresh coconut

Instructions

1. 1Using a food processor , grind together all the ingredients for the spice paste.
2. 2Marinate meat with the spice paste for at least 1 hour.
3. 3Heat the coconut milk over low heat until some oil rises to the surface (at least 20 minutes). Stir the coconut milk while it is cooking.
4. 4Transfer the meat and spice paste mixture to a large wok or pot. Cover with 300 ml of the hot coconut milk.
5. 5Stirring occasionally, cook over medium-low heat until half of the coconut milk has evaporated.
6. 6Add another 100 ml hot coconut milk, and stir until almost all of the coconut milk has evaporated.
7. 7Keep on adding coconut milk, 100 ml at a time, and cooking until the previous addition has evaporated.
8. 8Cook until the meat is tender (at least 1½ hours) and almost all the liquid from the coconut milk has reduced to a spicy sauce .