Beef rendang

There are a lot more secondary, slow-cooking cuts on a steer than there are tender primes, which makes us pretty happy, as they're the most delicious bits of all, we reckon. And so we don’t tire of our laziest stout, garlic & rosemary method we head for one of our Malaysian favourites, beef rendang.

One of the things I love most about rendang is that it's so perfectly complemented by the crisp, cool freshness of cucumber - a quick lift to an otherwise nicely stewy warming dish, and just made for Spring with all its contradictions!

Rendang is meant to be a dry curry, so don't be afraid to really reduce the sauce down. I typically marinate the beef for at least two hours, and aim to cook it for at least two hours, longer if time permits.

Ingredients

1kg beef - chuck on the bone or gravy beef, chopped into 2cm cubes

Marinade 2 med brown onions, chopped 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped 2 tbsp ground coriander 1 tbsp ground fennel 1 tbsp ground cumin freshly ground black pepper to taste 2 stalks of lemongrass, finely chopped 2cm galangal, finely chopped 2cm ginger, finely chopped 1 tpsn tamarind paste 2-6 dried chillies, soaked in hot water (reserve the water) 1-2 tbsp brown sugar salt to taste 1 cup water

Other 1 cinnamon quill 4 cloves 6 cardamom pods 600ml coconut milk 1 cup chilli water 1/2 cup dessicated coconut

Method

Whiz all the marinade ingredients in a food processor. Coat the meat well and leave covered in a bowl for at least 2 hours.

Tip all the meat and marinade into a heavy saucepan (I use enameled cast iron) and fry on medium heat for a few minutes. Add all other ingredients except the desiccated coconut, bring just to the boil, then simmer partially covered for 3-5 hours until the sauce has substantially reduced. Alternatively, pop the pot into a low oven (around 140C) for 4-6 hours, checking occasionally and adding liquid (stock or water) if need be.

Meanwhile, toast the coconut until brown, tip into a mortar and pestle and grind into paste. Tip in with the meat after first hour of cooking.

Cook until the beef is quite dry, adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve with jasmine rice and sliced cucumber with a garnish of fresh coriander. Enjoy!

 

Tammi's Sekrit BBQ Sauce

Today I'm going to let you in on a little secret about how to make the best bbq sauce. This isn't going to be a precise recipe so much as an attitude and an approach - you're going to have to let your imagination and your palate guide you somewhere delicious. Okay, are you ready?

The best bbq sauce starts with the most undesirable sweet thing lurking in the back of your fridge. 

Yep, that's the secret. From there, you're just aiming to get the right balance of sweet, spice, salt, and acid - very much tailored to your taste, preferably. So here's a favourite combo chez Jonai.

Ingredients

• weird jar of sweet thing (quince in syrup was most recent, but we use old jams, plum sauces, glace cherries...)
• passata (most of these recipes use tomato sauce but I don’t like the excessive sugar nor the numbers)
• onion, minced
• garlic, minced
• apple cider vinegar
• soy sauce
• Worcestershire sauce (go easy)
• mustard
• cayenne
• water

Method

Mix all ingredients to taste and marinate your meat for a few hours in it. This sauce is especially good for beef - if I'm using pork, I often leave out the passata and increase the mustard. Cover your ribs or whatever you're cooking with aluminium foil and cook on a very low heat for 12-24 hours. Remove the foil for the final 30-45 minutes to get some crispy/chewy bits.

 

For more recipes from Tammi, get your own copy of her cooking book Eat Like the Jonai.