Beef Rendang

This dish knocked our socks off! Honestly, Mei's Turban Chopsticks fresh curry pastes are THE BEST.  

I've always been quite 'anti' pre-made pastes, as they all seem to have an underlying metallic flavour to them. Not this range though! 

Rendang is often a curry I choose if we eat out. To make from scratch at home, it's rather a lengthy job.  This recipe is a breeze, taking less than 10 minutes to put it all together and the oven does the rest.

INGREDIENTS FOR FOUR

500gm diced chuck steak
1Tbsp light olive oil
Salt and pepper
½ jar Turban Chopsticks Rendang Curry Paste
1 x 400ml tin Chef’s Choice coconut milk
2 x medium Royal Blue potatoes, peeled
2 x medium carrots, peeled
½ cup desiccated coconut
couple of handfuls fresh coriander leaves
2 to 3 fresh Kaffir lime leaves (optional)

1½ cups Sella Basmati rice

METHOD

1. Remove beef from fridge 30 minutes before cooking to lose its chill. Place on tray lined with absorbent kitchen towel and use more towels to pat surface of meat dry.
2. Meanwhile peel potatoes and carrots and chop into 2 cm-ish chunks. Place in bowl of cold water.
3. Pre-heat oven to 160°C.
4. When ready to cook, place medium frying pan or shallow saucepan over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes.
5. Once pan is hot, add oil. Add beef to pan and leave for a couple of minutes, without stirring to lightly seal. Stir meat, releasing it from pan and cook for a further minute or so.
6. Add curry paste and stir through meat, allow to fry for 2 to 3 minutes, releasing all the aromatics.
7. Add coconut milk. Stir and bring to a simmer.
8. Cover pan with tight fitting lid, or double layer of foil and place pan in oven.
9. Cook for 1 hour.
10. Toast coconut on tray for 8 minutes in oven, until light golden. Set aside.
11. Once the hour is up, remove a piece of beef and a little sauce. Allow to rest on spoon, allowing meat to relax. If tender move on to next step. If not, replace pan in oven and re-test every 15 to 20 minutes, until meat is just tender.
12. Once meat is just about ready, drain water from prepared vegetables and add them to curry in saucepan along with desiccated coconut. Stir, replace lid and pop back in oven for 20 minutes, until veggies are just about cooked through.
13. Cook rice in 3 cups boiling water with a big pinch salt, in covered saucepan. Stir rice once after it has been in the water for a couple of minutes to loosen. Simmer for 14 minutes with lid on. Do not stir again. Turn off heat and allow to sit, covered until ready to serve. All liquid will have been absorbed.
14. Meanwhile, place curry saucepan on stove. Remove lid and allow sauce to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to reduce in volume. When sauce is thick, coating beef and vegetables it is ready.
15. Serve Rendang with rice and scatter with chopped coriander and, if using, very finely chopped (almost like a powder) kaffir lime leaves.

COOKS NOTES:

• Freeze leftover curry paste in original jar with lid on for up to 3 months.
• Double the meat and vegetables and use the whole jar of curry paste to serve 6 to 8 people. Only need to use 1 tin of coconut milk as it will be enough. Curry leftovers can be frozen.
• Add defrosted, warmed baby peas just before serving to warm through if more vegetables are liked. Their sweet pop is lovey in this curry’s rich sauce.
• The coconut milk will assist in tenderising the beef, the chick steak from the Providore was tender after just 1 hour of cooking! Be aware, stewing steak can take up to 2½ hours to cook. It certainly helps to have meat almost up to room temperature before cooking to reduce thermal shock.
• Take care once saucepan is taken out of oven as handles will remain hot for a while. Don’t burn yourself, and let others in the household know the pan is really hot!