Rendang

Rendangis a spicyMinangkabaumeat dishoriginating from thehighlandsregion inwestof theSumatraisland in Indonesia.It has spread across other islands in Indonesia to the cuisines of neighbouringSoutheast Asiancountries such asMalaysia,Singapore,Bruneiand thePhilippines.
Rendang is often described by Westerners as a rich "curry" made by stewing meat in coconut milk and spices until it becomes tender;but the dish is usually not considered as such in Indonesia and Malaysia since it is richer and contains less liquid than is normal forcurries known in these countries.Rendang is a piece of meat — most commonlybeef(rendang daging) — that has beenslow cookedandbraisedin acoconut milkandspice mixture,well until the liquids evaporate and the meat turns dark brown and tender, becoming caramelized and infused with rich spices. As the signature dish ofMinangkabau culture, rendang is traditionally served at ceremonial occasions to honour guests during festive events; such as wedding feasts andEid al-Fitralso known asHari RayaorLebaran.Rendang is also traditionally served among theMalaycommunity inIndonesia,Malaysia,SingaporeandBrunei, as well as theMaguindanaonandMaranaoin the Philippines.
In Indonesia, 6 different traditions of preparing rendang have been grantedintangible cultural heritagestatus by theIndonesian Ministry of Education and Culture, all included under the heritage of West Sumatra province. In 2010,Randang(theMinangspelling ofRendang),andgulai rendang(rendang served with more coconut-milk based liquid)were granted cultural heritage status, followed byRandang daging(meat rendang),randang kantang(potato rendang),andrandang incek kacang(rendang with beans)in 2016, whilerendang pakuof Dharmasraya (rendang prepared with the leaves of a fern (Diplazium esculentum)) received the same status in 2018.
In 2011, an online poll of 35,000 people  byCNN Internationalnominated beef rendang as the No. 1 World's most delicious dish in theirWorld's 50 most delicious foods: Readers' pickslist (even though it was #11 on the original list produced by the staff).In 2018,rendangwas officially recognised as being one of the 5national dishesof Indonesia; the others aresoto,sate,nasi goreng, andgado-gado.
The origin of rendang could be traced back to the Indian merchants links to West Sumatra before the 15th century. Due to regular contacts between India and West Sumatra since the early second millennium, there are possibilities that north Indian curry was the precursor of rendang. Indian curry was adopted by the Minangkabau people asgulai, a local version of curry. Minangkabau people then cooked thisgulaifurther in order to preparekalioalso known as wet rendang. This cooking process was then continued until it thickened and became rendang or also known as dry rendang.
Originating in the Sumatran Minangkabau region, the making of rendang spreads from Minangkabau highlands toMandailing,Riau,Jambi, across the strait toMalaccaandNegeri Sembilan, resulting in a variety of rendang traditions.Andalas Universityhistorian, Prof. Gusti Asnan suggests that rendang began to spread across the region when Minangkabau merchants began to trade and migrate toMalaccain the 16th century, "Because the journey through the river waterways in Sumatra took much time, a durable preserved dry rendang is suitable for a long journey."The dried Padang rendang is a durable food, good to consume for weeks, even when left at room temperature.One of the earliest written records of rendang is from the Malaccan Malay manuscript ofHikayat Amir Hamzah,which date back to the 1550s.
During theIndonesian National Revolutionin 1946, the Indonesian First LadyFatmawati, the wife ofSukarno, cooked and sent rendang to boost the morale of Indonesian republic freedom fighters around Yogyakarta. Declined by household helps, she insisted on buying beef and went to the market herself bybecak,despite being pregnant at the time.
The popularity of rendang has spread widely from its original domain because of themarantau(migrating) culture of Minangkabau people. In the modern era,Overseas Minangkabauleave their hometown to start a career in other Indonesian cities as well as neighboring countries, andPadang restaurants, Minangkabau eating establishments that are ubiquitous in Indonesian cities, spring up. These Padang restaurants have introduced and popularized Minangkabau style rendang and otherPadang fooddishes across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and the wider world.
Rendang is revered in Minangkabau culture as an embodiment of the philosophy ofmusyawarah, discussion and consultation with elders.It has been claimed that the four main ingredients represent Minangkabau society as a whole:
In Minangkabau tradition, rendang is a requisite dish for special occasions in traditional Minang ceremonies, from birth ceremonies to circumcision, marriage, Qur'an recitals, and religious festivals such asEid al-FitrandEid al-Adha.
In 2011, rendang placed 11th place on a list of World's 50 best foods published byCNN International.An online reader's poll of 35,000 voters chose beef rendang as the top dish on CNN International'sReaders' pickslist.
TheIndonesian Ministry of Education and Culturehave included six rendang preparations under itsNational Intangible Cultural Heritage of Indonesialist, all of which are registered under West Sumatra:Randang(Minang spelling),andgulai rendang,were part of the inaugural list in 2010. They were joined byrandang daging(meat rendang),randang kantang(potato rendang),andrandang incek kacang,in 2016.Rendang paku(fern rendang) of Dharmasraya, is the most recent addition as of 2018.
In 2018, rendang was officially recognised by the Indonesian government as one of the country'sfive national dishes: the others aresoto,sate,nasi goreng, andgado-gado.
Rendang is most often described as meatslow-cookedin coconut milk and spices until it becomes tender.If cooked properly, dry rendang can last for as long as four weeks.Prior torefrigerationtechnology, this style of cooking enabled preservation of the large amount of meat.The cooking technique flourished because of its role in preserving meat in a tropical climate.Its durability is one of the reasons that today, prepackaged rendang is sent as food aid relief for natural disaster survivors in Indonesia.Thecut of beefsuitable for rendang is lean meat of the rear leg of the cattle; i.e. topside orroundbeef, which is considered perfect for slow cooking.
Rendang is rich in spices. Along with the mainmeatingredient, rendang usescoconut milkand a paste of mixed ground spices, includingginger,galangal,turmericleaves,lemongrass, garlic,shallots,chillisand other spices. This spice mixture is calledpemasakin Minangkabau. The spices, garlic, shallot, ginger and galangal used in rendang haveantimicrobialproperties and serve as natural organic preservatives.Although someculinaryexperts describe rendang as acurry,the dish is usually not considered as such in Indonesia or Malaysia since it is richer and contains less liquid than is normal forcurries.
Traditionally the termrendangdoes not refer to a certain type of dish. The verbmerendangactually refers to amethodof slow cooking; continuously churning the ingredients in a pot or frying pan, on a small fire, until all of the liquids evaporate and the meat is well done.Traditional Padang rendang takes hours to cook. Cooking rendang involves pounding and grinding ingredients as well as slow cooking, and so is time-consuming and requires patience.The meat pieces are slowly cooked incoconut milkand spices until almost all the liquid is gone, allowing the meat to become tender and absorb the condiments. The cooking process changes from boiling to frying, as the liquid evaporates and the coconut milk turns to coconut oil.Cooking the meat until tender with almost all the liquid evaporated requires great care, keeping it from getting burnt. Because of its generous use of numerous spices, rendang is known for having a complex and unique taste.
Rendang is often served withsteamed rice,ketupat(a compressed rice cake) orlemang(glutinous rice cooked in bamboo tubes), accompanied with vegetable side dishes such as boiledcassavaleaf,cubadak(youngjackfruitgulai),cabbagegulaiandlado(red or green chilli peppersambal).
In Minangkabau culinary tradition, there are three recognised stages in cooking meat in spicy coconut milk. The dish which results is categorised according to the liquid content of the cooked coconut milk, which ranges from the most wet and soupy to the most dry:Gulai— Kalio – Rendang.The ingredients ofgulai,kalioand rendang are almost identical with the exceptions thatgulaiusually has less red chilli pepper and more turmeric, while rendang has richer spices.
If pieces of meat are cooked in spicy coconut milk and the process stopped right when the meat is done and the coconut milk has reached its boiling point, the dish is calledgulai. If the process continues until the coconut milk is partly evaporated and the meat has started to brown, the dish is calledkalio. For traditional dry rendang, the process continues hours beyond this, until the liquid has all but completely evaporated and the color turns to a dark brown, almost black color. Thus not only liquid content but also color indicate which type of rendang is involved:gulaiis light yellow,kaliois brown and rendang is very dark brown. Today, one mostly finds only two simpler categories of rendang: either dry or wet.
According to Minangkabau tradition, their true rendang is the dry one. Although, unlike crispydendengbaladospicy jerky, rendang's texture is not actually dry, since it is quite moist and rather oily. Rendang is diligently stirred, attended, and cooked for hours until the coconut milk has evaporated, turned into coconut oil, and the meat has absorbed the spices. It is still served for special ceremonial occasions or to honor guests. If cooked properly, dried rendang can last for three to four weeks stored at room temperature and is still good to consume.It can even last months stored in a refrigerator, and up to six months if frozen.
Wet rendang, more accurately identified askalio, is a type of rendang that is cooked for a shorter period of time and much of the coconut milk liquid has not evaporated.Kaliohas quite abundant liquid sauce acquired from cooked coconut milk that partly has turned into spicy oil, which is quite flavourful if consumed withsteamed rice. Much of rendang served abroad is actually more akin tokalioor wet version of rendang. If stored at room temperature,kaliolasts less than a week.Kaliousually has a light golden brown colour, paler than dry rendang.
Rendang is made from beef (or occasionallybeef liver,chicken,duck,mutton,water buffalo, or vegetables likejackfruitorcassava). Chicken or duck rendang also containstamarindand is usually not cooked for as long as beef rendang.
Theoriginal Minangkabau rendanghas two categories,rendang darekandrendang pesisir.Rendang darek(‘land rendang’) is an umbrella term for dishes from old regions in mountainous areas of theMinangkabau Highlandssuch asBatusangkar,Agam,Lima Puluh Kota,Payakumbuh,Padang PanjangandBukittinggi. It mainly consists of beef, offal, poultry products, jackfruit, and many other vegetables and animal products which are found in these places.Rendang pesisir(‘coastal rendang’) is from the coastal regions of Minangkabau such asPariaman,Padang,PainanandPasaman.Rendang pesisirmainly consists of seafood, although it is not unusual for them to incorporate beef or water buffalo meat in their rendang.
Minangkabau Rendang variations:
Today, rendang is quite widespread inIndonesia, owned mainly by the proliferation ofPadangrestaurants in the country, which led to popularity and adoption of rendang
into the kitchens of contemporaryIndonesianhouseholds of various ethnic backgrounds. This might led to development of variants with slightly altered tastes to accommodate regional preferences. Other ethnic groups inIndonesiaalso have adopted a version of rendang into their daily diet. For example, inJava, the rendang—aside from thePadangvariety sold inPadangrestaurants—tend to be wet, slightly sweeter and less spicy to accommodateJavanesetastes.
Rendang variations outside by the Minangkabau:
Outside ofIndonesia, rendang is also known inMalaysia,Singapore,Brunei, southernThailand, and the southernPhilippinesas well as in theNetherlands,Australia,Taiwan,Belgium,andNew Zealand.
Rendang has a long history in Malaysia with distinct versions unique to individual Malaysian states. The different versions of rendang use different ingredients for the spice mix, resulting in differing flavors to the meat.
The Dutch are familiar with rendang through colonial ties and often serve the wetkalioversion in theNetherlands—usually as part of arijsttafel. Indonesian dishes, including rendang, are served in numbers of Indonesian restaurants in Dutch cities, especiallyThe Hague,Utrecht,RotterdamandAmsterdam.
In the Philippines, rendang is most commonly associated with the cuisine of the MuslimMaranao peopleofMindanao. It differs from the Indonesian versions in the use of the native spice mixpalapaas well as the addition ofmuscovadosugar.
Rendangbumbuis sometimes used as the base of otherfusion dishes. Some chefs in Indonesiansushiestablishments for example, have developed a Japanese-Indonesian fusion cuisine with recipes for krakatau roll,gado-gadoroll, rendang rollandgulairamen.Several chefs and food industries have experimented with fusing rendang withsandwiches,burgersandspaghetti.Burger Kingat one time served their take on a rendang-flavoured burger in their Singapore and Indonesia chains for a limited promotion period.Spaghetti with rendang could also be found in7-Elevenconvenience stores across Indonesia.
Rendang is also a popular flavour in Indonesianinstant noodlevariants, such as theIndomieGoreng Rendang.
Most recently, there were Taiwanesebaoziswith rendang fillings sold at Neo Soho Mall in West Jakarta.