isithalal.food

Halal-conscious recipe

Halal beef rendang

Slow-cooked Indonesian beef rendang in coconut milk, lemongrass and a chilli, shallot, ginger and galangal paste, made with Halal beef and Halal-certified chicken stock powder, with turmeric rice.

  • Cuisine Indonesian
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Moderate
  • Yield 1 large pot, with rice
  • Time 3h 35m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
A glass bowl of dark, dry beef rendang with woven rice parcels behind it
Photograph from our ingredient library: a bowl of rendang, not the finished dish.

Photo: Midori · CC BY 3.0

Why Halal checks matter here

Rendang's beef is only Halal from Halal-slaughtered cattle, and BBC Good Food's version seasons both the curry and the rice with chicken stock powder, which needs a Halal mark too.

Rendang is a Minangkabau dish: beef simmered for hours in coconut milk and a chilli and aromatics paste until the sauce cooks down and clings to the meat (see rendang). There is no pork or alcohol in BBC Good Food's version. What needs checking is the sourcing.

The beef is Halal only from Halal-slaughtered cattle, so buy the shin or skirt from a Halal butcher (see beef). The recipe also seasons both the curry and the rice with chicken stock powder; use one with a Halal certifier's mark, or a vegetable powder labelled vegan (see stock cubes).

Stir more often in the last half hour, as the sauce reduces and starts to catch. It is ready when the oil separates and the beef is almost falling apart.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Beef Beef is Halal only from Halal slaughter. Buy shin or skirt from a Halal butcher or a certified pack. See Beef and Rendang.
  • Chicken stock powder The recipe uses chicken stock powder in the curry and the rice, and chicken stock is Halal only from Halal-slaughtered chickens. Use a stock powder with a Halal certifier's mark, or a vegetable powder labelled vegan. See Stock cubes.

Safe substitutes

  • Chicken stock powder of unknown source → Halal-certified chicken stock powder, or a vegan vegetable stock powder

Allergens

mustard (mustard seeds in the rice)

Ingredients

Paste

  • 15 dried chillies
  • 6–8 baby shallots
  • thumb-sized piece ginger, chopped
  • thumb-sized piece galangal, peeled and chopped (or more ginger)
  • 3 lemongrass stalks, chopped

Rendang

  • 45 ml (3 tbsp) vegetable oil
  • 2 kg (4½ lb) Halal beef shin or skirt, cut into bite-sized cubes
  • 2 lemongrass stalks, bashed
  • 800 ml (2 × 400 ml cans) coconut milk
  • 250 ml (1 cup) water
  • 4 tbsp desiccated coconut
  • 2 makrut lime leaves, torn
  • 1½ tbsp Halal-certified chicken stock powder
  • 2 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 1 tsp golden caster sugar
  • ¼ tsp salt

Turmeric rice

  • 30 ml (2 tbsp) oil
  • 2 tsp mustard seeds
  • 2 tsp ground turmeric
  • 10 curry leaves (optional)
  • 700 g (3½ cups) jasmine rice
  • 2 tsp Halal-certified chicken stock powder
  • 1 l (4 cups) water

Method

  1. Make the paste. Soak the dried chillies in boiling water for 15 minutes. Drain, remove the seeds and blend with the shallots, ginger, galangal and chopped lemongrass in a small food processor until smooth.
  2. Start the rendang. Heat the oil in a wok or heavy flameproof casserole and fry the paste for 5 minutes until fragrant. Add the beef and the bashed lemongrass and mix well. Once the beef loses its pinkness, add the coconut milk and 250 ml water, bring to the boil and simmer uncovered for 2 hours, stirring now and then and more often towards the end.
  3. Toast the coconut. Meanwhile, toast the desiccated coconut in a dry frying pan over a low heat for 5 to 7 minutes until golden. Cool, then blend it coarsely.
  4. Finish the rendang. After 2 hours, add the toasted coconut, lime leaves, stock powder, tamarind, sugar and salt and simmer for 30 minutes more, until the oil starts to separate and the beef is tender and almost falling apart.
  5. Make the turmeric rice. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan with a lid and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, stir in the turmeric, curry leaves if using, and the rice. Add the stock powder and 1 litre of water, bring to the boil, then cover and cook on the lowest heat for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and leave covered to steam for 25 minutes. Serve with the rendang.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Beef rendang' (a paste of soaked dried chillies, shallots, ginger, galangal and lemongrass fried for 5 minutes; 2 kg beef shin or skirt and lemongrass added, then two cans of coconut milk and 250 ml water simmered uncovered for 2 hours; toasted coconut, lime leaves, chicken stock powder, tamarind, sugar and salt added for 30 minutes more; turmeric rice with mustard seeds, curry leaves and chicken stock steamed for 25 minutes). We specified Halal beef and Halal-certified chicken stock powder. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Beef rendang — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    Serves 6: 2 kg beef shin or skirt, paste of 15 dried chillies, shallots, ginger, galangal and lemongrass; 2 × 400 ml coconut milk, coconut, lime leaves, chicken stock powder, tamarind, sugar; simmered 2½ hours; turmeric rice with mustard seeds, curry leaves, 700 g jasmine rice and chicken stock. We specified Halal beef and stock powder.

  2. Rendang analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    What makes rendang Halal and what to ask when buying it.

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