Spicy, rich and creamy
Try this super easy beef short rib rendang using quality shop-bought curry sauce and grass-fed short ribs.
- SERVES: 4 – 6
- PREP TIME: 5 mins
- COOKING TIME: 3 hours low and slow
- DIFFICULTY: easy
- IDEAL FOR: curry night, crowd-pleaser, family, weekend meal
- BUDGET: £
What are beef short ribs?
Short ribs come from the “short” portion of the rib—not the full rib – that would be huge.
A cow has 13 ribs and they count them from head to tail.
Rib no. 1 is at the shoulder (chuck primal)
And rib no. 13 is in the loin or mid-back.
Short ribs come from ribs 2 through 5, found in the chuck and brisket primal cuts, and 6 through 8, found in the rib and plate cuts.
They often have a lot of fat and connective tissue.
Which is why they lend themselves to hands-off, low-and-slow cooking.
So, don’t be put off by the fat content, that’s flavour.
Cooking low and slow is the easiest form of cooking and makes you a legend in the kitchen.
And these rendang short ribs are as easy as they come…
Mainly because I’ve gone for the ultimate cheat and used a good quality shop-bought rendang paste.
But if you want to cook it from scratch, I’ve added a recipe below for you.
What is rendang?
It’s a rich and tender coconut beef stew.
But it’s a ‘dry’ curry which means there isn’t a lot of sauce.
And the word ‘rendang’ really refers to the method of cooking rather than the name of the curry itself.
It originates from Indonesia where it is traditionally served at ceremonial occasions to honour guests during festive events.
Traditionally Rendang curry is made with beef, often chuck steak but we’re using beef short ribs.
The beef is slow-cooked until perfectly tender.
And the homemade curry paste is made with spicy red chillies, ginger, and galangal.
Tips for a good homemade rendang
Use the right type of chilli
Serrano chilli: Use approx… 300g for 1kg of beef.
Cut the galangal into small pieces
You do blend this but galangal is pretty tough and doesn’t disintegrate easily like onions, garlic etc.
So, it’s best to cut into small pieces before you blitz.
Homemade rendang
As mentioned, the recipe I’ve posted is the cheat version.
It tastes amazing (get quality rendang paste) and means you can get on with your weekend.
However, I also like cooking things from scratch when I have time.
This is why I’ve added Taste Asian Food’s recipe in case you want to learn how to make it from scratch.
- PREP TIME: 30 minutes.
- COOK TIME: 3 hours
- TOTAL TIME: 3 hours 30 minutes
Ingredients
Ingredients (A)
- 1 kg beef
- 600 ml coconut cream
- 100 ml vegetable oil
Ingredients (B)- to blend
- 4 candlenuts
- 12 cloves chopped garlic
- 300 g red chilli (Serrano chilli pepper)
- 250 g onions
- 50 g ginger
- 50 g galangal
- 25 g ground turmeric, or 50g of fresh turmeric
- 1½ tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 11/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 10 cloves
Ingredients (C)- Seasonings and Spices
- 4 stalks lemongrass, bashed
- 3 pieces kaffir lime leaves
- 1 piece asam keping
- 2 turmeric leaves, tied up
Instructions
- Cut the beef into 4 cm squares, half cm thick. Do not cut the beef too small as the meat can break into smaller pieces during cooking.
- Blend all the ingredients in (B), and set the blend aside.
- Remove the green section and the outer sheath of the lemongrass. Use only the white portion. Bash them so that the lemongrass to ensure the release of the flavour.
- Heat up the vegetable oil in a wok. Saute the spice paste (B) over low heat until aromatic.
- Add the coconut cream, turmeric leaves, kaffir lime leaves, asam keping and lemongrass into the wok.
- Add the beef and cook over medium heat. Bring the coconut milk to a boil.
- Once it is boiled, continue simmer over low heat. Add water from time to time when the stew is about to dry.
- Cook until the beef absorbs the flavour of the spices thoroughly and the colour turns to dark brown. It will take about three hours.
- Served with rice or bread.
If you enjoy a curry, check out Homemade Rogan Josh curry.
References:
Supper easy beef short ribs rendang
Ingredients
- 500 g Beef short ribs (grass-fed if possible)
- 1 jar rendang curry paste
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 1 x 400 g tinned coconut milk
Instructions
- Preheat a fan oven to 150C.
- Place an oven-proof casserole dish, on the hob on high heat. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, then brown them all over in the dish (you may have to do them in batches). Then set them aside,
- Turn the heat down a little and then add the rendang pasta and cook a little so the paste starts to bubble, then add in the coconut milk.Fill a quarter of the coconut milk tin with water and add to the pan and mix well.
- Let the sauce come to a gentle simmer, then add the short ribs back to the casserole dish.Put the lid on the dish and place the dish into the preheated oven. Cook for 3 – 4 hours, or until the short ribs are beautifully tender and are starting to come away from the bone.
- Serve with rice and naan bread.
Notes
