Preparation Time: less than 30 min
Cooking Time: 1-2 hours
Serves: 4
Ingredients
for the rendang
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 tbsp chopper fresh ginger, I tbsp chopper garlic (or 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste)
1 tsp turmeric
6 long red chilies, soaked in water and roughly chopped
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 cinnamon stick
6 cardamom pods
½ kg boneless chicken, cut into 2cm cubes
zest of lime
1 tbsp juice of a lime or 1 tbsp tamarind (strained)
400 ml coconut milk
coriander sprigs to garnish
for the herb rice
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods
250 g basmati rice
600 ml water
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
salt
to serve
1 deep-fried red chili
Preparation Method
for the rendang paste
1 Place the onion, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric and chilies into a food processor. Blend to form a smooth purée.
2 Heat a wok and add the oil. Fry the paste over a high heat until the paste turns darker and is highly aromatic.
3 Add the cardamom pods (crush the cardamom pods gently with the back of a spoon before frying) and the cinnamon stick broken in half and cook for another minute then add the meat.
4 Fry chicken in the paste stirring all the time, until it is well-browned.
5 Pour over the coconut milk and tamarind purée/ lime juice and bring to a gentle simmer, add the lime zest.
6 Season with salt, stir well then reduce to a simmer.
7 Cook for between 1 and 1 ½ hour, stirring frequently during this time. The meat should be really tender and the sauce reduced and rich.
for the herb rice
1 Wash the rice really well under cold water, allow to drip dry.
2 Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan. Add the spices and fry for 1 minute.
3 Add the rice and fry until the grains begin to turn an opaque white.
4 Add water and a pinch of salt. At this point, the mixture can be transferred into a rice cooker and allowed to cook.
5 To serve, mix the herbs into the rice and divide between four warmed serving dishes. Next spoon on the rendang, finish with a few sprigs of coriander . Serve immediately, garnished with red chili.
