This Malaysian curry dish is rich and creamy, packed with flavor and spice!

Host Alexandria learned this traditional dish from a friend and it’s become one of her go-to curries! Now, she’s sharing the recipe for you to try at home.
The recipe I’m using for beef eendang is a Malaysian Nonya recipe obtained from one of my closest friends Marieza Undasan-Chapman. She was born and raised in Singapore in a very food orientated family who taught her the art of centuries old Nonya cooking, which is particular to Malay culture and passed down from grandmother to grandchild. She is a truly spectacular cook. I have nothing but admiration for the powerhouse that she is and the amazing mother, wife and friend she has become.
Host Alexandra

Ingredients
For the Rendeng spice paste:
- 100g grated fresh coconut – I had to use unsweetened desiccated coconut
- 8 dried Kashmiri chilies
- 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
- 225g shallots or onions – roughly chopped
- 30g garlic – roughly chopped
- 50g peeled galangal or ginger
- 6 hot red birds eye chilies – seeded and roughly chopped
For the Rendeng
- 3 tablespoons of coconut oil – you can use vegetable oil
- 3 lbs of braising steak cut into 5-6cm chunks
- 1 quantity of rendang spice paste – as above
- 2 x 400 ml canned coconut milk – don’t buy the reduced fat stuff
- 4 fat lemongrass stalks – bruised – (just bash them lightly)
- 12 dried kaffir lime leaves – crumbled or fresh chopped
- 2 x 7.5cm cinnamon sticks
- 125 ml tamarind water (All you do is soak the 60g of pulp in 125ml of hot water and leave for 5 minutes. Break up the pulp with your fingers and then strain the syrupy mixture through a fine discarding the fibrous material and seeds.)
- 1 tablespoon of palm sugar (sold as a golden/tan paste) – or – you can use brown sugar but palm sugar will taste better in this dish.
Instructions
To make the Rendang Spice Paste:
- Heat a dry, heavy-based, frying pan over medium heat. Add the coconut and stir for a few minutes until it is richly golden – don’t let it burn
- Tip into a food processor and leave to cool
- Meanwhile, put the dried Kashmiri chilies, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds into a spice grinder and grind to a fine powder
- Add this to the processor with the rest of the spice paste ingredients and 100 ml of water. Blend to a smooth-ish paste.
With that done, prepare the Rendang:
- Heat the coconut oil or vegetable oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan
- Add the beef and fry briefly until it has changed color but not browned
- Add the spice paste, coconut milk, lemongrass, lime leaves and cinnamon sticks and 1 and a half teaspoons of salt
- Bring to the boil, reduce the heat, add the tamarind water and leave to simmer, uncovered for 2 and a half hours, stirring occasionally, and more frequently towards the end of cooking, until the beef is tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened
- Remove the lemongrass from the rendang and stir in the palm sugar and season to taste
- Serve with jasmine rice