This easy beef rendang is a delicious Indonesian recipe featuring slow-cooked beef in a luxurious, spicy coconut milk sauce. The meat becomes incredibly tender, and is flavored with aromatic spices that deliver bold, complex flavors. This recipe can be made on the stovetop or the Instant Pot for home cooks seeking an authentic yet accessible dish.
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Serve this beef rendang with jasmine rice, basmati rice, or brown rice.
Beef rendang is a rich, spicy, coconut-flavored braised beef dish popular in Indonesia and Malaysia. The beef is cooked in a fragrant, richly spiced sauce and is fall-apart tender.
Rendang originated in Indonesia, but Indonesian settlers brought it to Malaysia. The Malaysian version has some Indian influences, including coriander, cumin, and cardamom.
Indonesian rendang tends to be drier, while the Malaysian version is slightly wet.
Although it’s often called a “beef rendang curry,” and many restaurants serve a wet rendang with gravy, it’s traditionally not a very saucy recipe.
In an authentic beef rendang recipe, the beef is cooked over a long period until the beef absorbs all the complex spices and coconut flavor. The slow cooking results in a very tender meat.
To save time, I also make Instant Pot beef rendang, which produces some extra sauce that you can use for another dish.
Making rendang beef from scratch is time-consuming and requires specialty ingredients and whole spices that are ground into a fine paste in a blender or food processor.
I like to use a premade spice mix to save time, making the rendang recipe so much easier.
➡ Looking for beef recipes? Try my Kerala beef curry, Korean beef bulgogi, or massaman curry with beef. They’re hearty and satisfying comfort food recipes!
Ingredients and Tips
🧂 Ingredients You’ll Need for Beef Rendang
💡 Recipe and Ingredient Tips
Meat
I like to use beef stew meat because it’s pre-cut and easy.
Beef chuck can be cut into thick 1 ½ to 2-inch chunks. And trim off as much fat as you can. You can also use beef short ribs.
Store-Bought Beef Rendang Paste
I’ve tried many different brands of rendang curry paste: Tean’s Gourmet, Indofoods, and Bamboe are the best. My family feels that Tean’s is by far the tastiest, but it’s also extremely spicy!
The Tean’s paste is a Malaysian-style spice mix and I think that’s why I like it better, due to the Indian influence in Malaysian recipes.
If you want a milder beef rendang, use the Bamboe brand.
Homemade Beef Rendang Paste
I find it easy to make beef rendang using bought paste. If you prefer to make your own beef rendang paste, follow this recipe:
INGREDIENTS
- 6 to 12 dry red chilis *
- Hot water (enough to cover chilis)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed and chopped
- 1-inch piece of galangal, peeled and chopped
- 4 lime leaves
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 3-inch cinnamon stick
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Soak the chilis in hot water for about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and reserve the soaking water.
- Add all ingredients to a mini food processor or blender and blend until you have a smooth paste, the consistency of pesto. Add just enough of the soaking water to get things moving, but don’t add too much!
- Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat. Add the blender ingredients and fry for a few minutes until fragrant and raw taste is gone. Use a splatter screen as needed.
* The number and type of chilis will be dependent on their spiciness and your tolerance for spice. Kashmiri chilis are a mild option.
This recipe may be more than you’ll need. You can store any leftover rendang paste in the refrigerator for up to a week, or freeze it for later use.
Spices
I like to add a few extra spices in addition to the rendang spice paste. These whole spices can be used instead of powders:
- Cinnamon stick (1-inch piece)
- Whole cloves (2 pieces)
- Cardamom pods (a couple of pods)
If you have any of these ingredients on hand, feel free to add them:
- Star Anise – ½ to 1 piece
- Kaffir lime leaves (aka makrut) – two leaves, thinly sliced
- Toasted unsweetened grated coconut (aka kerisik, available at Asian stores) – 1 ½ tablespoons
Palm Sugar
Brown sugar can be substituted for palm sugar. You can reduce the quantity of sugar or omit it. I like the balance the sugar provides. You can also substitute palm sugar with granulated sugar or honey.
Tamarind Paste
Tamarind paste can be made from slabs of tamarind pulp that you can find at East Asian or South Asian stores. This is my Instant Pot Tamarind Paste recipe (try and make it ahead of time). Tamarind paste adds tartness to dishes.
If you use a purchased tamarind paste, the quantity required varies. If using Indian tamarind paste such as Tamicon, you should start out with a smaller quantity (about ½ teaspoon mixed with some hot water) and taste before you add more.
If using Thai tamarind concentrate, use about 1 teaspoon. If you don’t want to use tamarind at all, you can substitute ½ to 1 teaspoon of lime juice or omit it altogether.
Separating the Fat
When the beef is done cooking, you may notice fat in the liquid that remains in the inner pot. If you want to remove the fat, here are a few ways to do this:
Refrigerate the liquid until the fat solidifies and remove the fat from the surface.
Skim the fat off the top with a large spoon or use a fat separator.
Instant Pot Version
The Instant Pot rendang produces a lot of sauce. I like to reserve half the sauce and use it another day to make a chicken curry. The remaining sauce is reduced and served with the beef.
You don’t need to do it this way. You can serve the beef as a curry with lots of sauce. It tastes delicious with rice.
❓FAQs
You could add sambal oelek, sriracha, or some cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper flakes.
Reduce the quantity of rendang paste if you want a milder flavor. You can also add more coconut milk.
Yes, you can double the recipe. Keep the cooking time the same.
Yes, this recipe can be frozen. Freeze it in gallon Ziploc bags for up to three months.
Yes, use the Instant Pot version of the recipe. Pressure cook a larger piece of beef and shred it after it has pressure cooked, and before sauteing to reduce the sauce. Fatty cuts of beef do best in the Instant Pot. Pressure cook a 2.5 to 3 lb slab of beef chuck for about 60 minutes, with a natural pressure release.
How to Make Beef Rendang
Recipe card below has detailed instructions and ingredients!
♨️ Stovetop Method
- Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Saute the onions, garlic, and ginger until the onions are translucent.
- Add the spices and saute briefly. If you find the spices sticking to the bottom of the pan, deglaze with some broth or water.
- Add ½ cup coconut milk and saute until the spice mixture is thick and bubbly. Watch out for splatters (use a splatter screen, if needed). Add the beef, remaining coconut milk, and water or broth. Bring to a boil.
- Turn the flame down to low heat, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until the beef is tender and the sauce has dried up.
⏲️ Instant Pot Method
- Saute onion, garlic, and ginger.
- Add spice paste and spice powders. Saute briefly, then add some coconut milk.
- Saute spice mix until thick and bubbly and the oil separates from the spices.
- Stir in the beef cubes. Stir in coconut milk and water.
- Pressure cook and let the pressure release on its own.
- Remove the beef and set aside. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and set aside.
- Return the beef to the Instant Pot and cook on Saute mode for 5 to 10 minutes, adding a couple of tablespoons of sauce whenever the beef has absorbed the sauce or is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Save the remaining sauce for another day, to make a curry with your choice of meat and/or vegetables.
Instant Pot Beef Rendang
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup onions chopped
- 1 tablespoon ginger minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced
- 4 to 6 tablespoon rendang spice paste or to taste (less than ½ package) [See Note 1]
- 2 teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon fennel powder
- 1 teaspoon tamarind paste or to taste
- 13.5 oz. coconut milk (1 can) full fat, preferably Aroy-D or Chaokoh brand – 400 ml [See Note 2]
- 2 lbs beef stew meat or beef chuck, cut into pieces – 1 kg
- 2 teaspoon palm sugar or brown sugar, optional
- ½ cup water or chicken or beef broth (more, as needed, for stovetop version, if sticking to the bottom)
Instructions
Stovetop Instructions
- Heat vegetable oil in a dutch oven on medium-high heat.
- Saute onions, ginger, and garlic, stirring frequently until the onions are translucent.
- Add the rendang spice paste, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, turmeric, fennel, and tamarind paste. Stir until the spices are blended.
- Add ½ cup of coconut milk and stir until mixture is bubbly, about a minute or two.
- Stir in beef, palm (or brown) sugar, remaining coconut milk, and water (or broth) and bring to a simmer.
- Turn the heat down to low, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours, or until the beef is really tender and the sauce has dried up. Stir occasionally, to prevent sticking. If the beef appears too dry while cooking, add some extra water or broth.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Select the Saute function. Once the Instant Pot is hot, add oil and let the oil heat up. Add onions, ginger, and garlic and saute, stirring frequently until the onions are translucent.
- Add the rendang spice paste, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, turmeric, fennel, and tamarind paste.
- Stir the onion mixture until the spices are blended. If the spices begin to burn, press Cancel to let the Instant Pot cool down and then turn it back on.
- Add ½ cup of coconut milk and stir until mixture is bubbly, about a minute or two. Use a splatter screen, if necessary, to prevent splatters.
- Stir in beef, palm (or brown) sugar, remaining coconut milk, and water (or broth).
- Close the lid and pressure cook for 15 minutes at High Pressure.
- Allow the pressure to release naturally (NPR), press Cancel and open the lid. [Read More: The Different Pressure Release Methods.]
- Transfer the beef to a large bowl using a slotted spoon and set aside. Transfer the sauce to another large bowl, and return the beef to the Instant Pot.
- Turn on Saute mode and saute the beef for 10 minutes, adding a couple of tablespoons of sauce at a time until the all sauce is absorbed, before adding more.
How to use the Reserved Sauce from Instant Pot
- The sauce can be refrigerated for a couple of days. Add 2 lbs. of boneless skinless chicken thighs and 2 cups of cubed potatoes. Simmer on medium heat until the potatoes are cooked, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Notes
- Note 1: I prefer to use the packaged rendang spice paste. If you want to make your own, please refer to the tips section for this recipe.
- Note 2: The Tean’s curry paste is spicy! You can either reduce the quantity of spice paste or use the Bamboe brand.
- Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. minced garlic, cubed meat, etc.
- If making this recipe in the Instant Pot and you get the Food Burn or Burn error message, you may need to add an additional ¼ cup of broth.
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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Bonnie says
Used instantpot, meat was super tender. Tasted sauce along the way and thought I was going to have an awful outcome. End result was DELICIOUS. Had some leftover coconut cream that I used instead of coconut milk.
Neena Panicker says
That’s awesome to hear – I’m so happy you liked the recipe!
charnassi says
Forgot to note that I had a box of coconut cream in refrigerator that needed to be used up. Diluted with a bit of water worked perfectly.
Charnassi says
As I tasted the different ingredients along the way, I thought this is going to be a catastrophe. Then I tasted the finished dish and it was super delicious. Used the instantpot, stew meat was wonderfully tender.
Neena Panicker says
I’m so thrilled that you liked the recipe! There are so many flavors and it definitely mellows as it cooks!
leigh sturkey says
How much of the liquid do you add to the last step, it’s says to add a little at a time before adding more, do you repeat this step until all the liquid is added?
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Hi Leigh, the more liquid you add and reduce, the more concentrated the flavor is (including spice). So I suggest 2 to 3 tablespoons and then taste it and add more only if needed.
Vanessa says
I have made your beef rendang twice and my family raves about it!
Paint the Kitchen Red says
Vanessa, I’m so happy that you enjoyed the recipe. I too, get rave reviews for that recipe!