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–+ servings
chicken rendang curry in a light coloured bowl

Chicken Rendang Recipe (Resepi Rendang Ayam)

Azlin Bloor
Cook an authentic chicken rendang, the way I've been making it for 30+ years. And find out about its ingredients and their substitutes!
5 from 8 votes
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine Indonesian, Malaysian, Singaporean
Servings 6
Calories 421 kcal

Equipment

  • knife
  • scissors
  • ladles and spoons
  • sieve/colander
  • bowl
  • saucepan or dutch oven

Ingredients
 
 

Ingredients A
  • 4 Tbsp vegetable oil (minyak)
  • 1 kg mix chicken portions see article above
  • 400 ml coconut milk (santan)
  • 125 ml water (air)
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, bruised (serail)
  • 2 large turmeric leaves OR 6 kaffir lime leaves (daun kunyit)
  • 1 tsp salt (garam)
Tamarind
  • 3 heaped Tbsp tamarind pulp (asam jawa) or 2-3 Tbsp shop bought paste
  • 125 ml water for the tamarind
Kerisik
  • 4 Tbsp desiccated coconut or grated coconut
  • 1 Tbsp coconut milk (from above)
Dry Spices
  • 1 star anise (bunga lawang)
  • 1 small cinnamon stick (kayu manis)
  • 3 green cardamom pods (buah pelaga)
Ingredients B (Spice Paste, Rempah)
  • 3 stalks lemongrass (serai)
  • 2.5 cm galangal (lengkuas)
  • 5 cm ginger (halia)
  • 5 medium cloves garlic (bawang putih)
  • 20 dried red chillies (cili kering) see article above
  • 2 large onions, quartered (bawang besar)
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric (serbuk kunyit)
  • 1 Tbsp ground coriander (serbuk ketumbar)

Instructions
 

Prep Work

  • Put the kettle on, about half full.
    Dried Chillies. Cut the dried red chillies in 2-3 pieces, depending on their lengths, and soak them in a bowl of hot water for 20 minutes. In the meantime, get all the other ingredients ready.
    After 20 minutes, drain and rinse the chillies, and losing the seeds, if you like. Place them aside.
    20 dried red chillies
  • Tamarind. Place the tamarind pulp (if using) into a bowl, and top with 125 ml (½ cup) of hot water from the kettle. Leave to soak for 10 minutes, no need to cover.
    3 heaped Tbsp tamarind pulp, 125 ml water
  • At the end of 10 minutes, mash it all up with your fingers and fish out all the fibrous pulp and bits of shell, as much as you can.
    I prefer not to strain the tamarind juice, as you'll miss out on all the flavour if you do. The odd bit of pulp is perfectly fine.
  • Roll your turmeric leaves up and either using a knife or a pair of scissors, cut them up into thin shreds.
    If using lime leaves, just tear the leaves up.
    2 large turmeric leaves OR 6 kaffir lime leaves

Kerisik

  • Shake your coconut can up to mix the fat and liquid into 1 homogenous mixture.
    Tip the desiccated coconut into a small frying pan, along with 1 Tbsp of the coconut milk. Cook on low for 2-3 minutes, tossing the flakes until they are dry and a deep golden brown colour.
    Err on the side of caution and take it off before they get too brown, as towards the end, they can burn pretty quickly.
    4 Tbsp desiccated coconut, 1 Tbsp coconut milk (from above)
  • Tip it out onto a plate or your mortar. This will stop the kerisik from burning in the hot pan.
    Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then pound to a semi-coarse grind.

Let's chop up the ingredients into a paste

  • Place your lemongrass, galangal, ginger and garlic and chop for 20 seconds.
    Add the chillies and chop again for 20 seconds.
    Now add the onions and blend everything to a fine paste.
    3 stalks lemongrass, 2.5 cm galangal, 5 cm ginger, 5 medium cloves garlic, 2 large onions, quartered
  • Finally add the ground turmeric and coriander and blend in.
    ½ tsp ground turmeric , 1 Tbsp ground coriander

Let's get cooking!

  • Heat the oil on medium and fry the star anise, cinnamon and cardamom for 20 seconds.
    4 Tbsp vegetable oil, 1 star anise, 1 small cinnamon stick, 3 green cardamom pods
  • Add the bruised lemongrass and spice paste and fry for 5 minutes, stirring every so often. Because we're only using 4 Tbsp of oil, it will start to get dry half way through. Just turn the heat down to medium-low and stir to stop it from burning.
    1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
  • At the end of 5 minutes, tip in the chicken pieces and coat them well with the spice paste. Stir and leave the chicken to cook for 1 minute.
    1 kg mix chicken portions
  • Add half the tamarind juice, coconut milk, water, salt, turmeric leaves and kerisik, and bring everything to a simmer on medium heat. Give it a good stir.
    Cook, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring a few times in the last 15 minutes.
    If you're using bite-sized boneless chicken, then you only need 30 minutes.
    400 ml coconut milk, 125 ml water, 1 tsp salt
  • When it's done, check seasoning and add more salt if you think it needs it. And also more tamarind to your taste, if you fancy a little more tartness and depth.
    Just bear in mind, rendang is not a tangy curry, and you are not going for hot, sweet and tangy Thai flavours.
    Serve as suggested in the article.

Fancy some Serunding?

Notes

If you find that your rendang is too dry for you, add 60-125 ml (¼-½ cup) water at the end and simmer for 1 minute.

Nutrition

Calories: 421kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 23gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 85mgSodium: 381mgPotassium: 464mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 601IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 44mgIron: 4mg
Keyword curry, eid recipes, malaysian recipes, raya recipes, resepi raya, singaporean
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