Exotic-spicy beef goulash in coconut sauce, Bandung style

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg beef goulash
• 1 ½ liters of coconut water
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 400 ml coconut milk, 24% fat
• 8 small onions, red
• 4 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 2 small red chili peppers
• 30 g ginger, finely grated
• 20 g galangal, finely grated
• 4 stalks of lemongrass
• 4 m.-large kaffir lime leaves
• 2 lettuce leaves
• 3 tbsp palm sugar
• 2 cinnamon sticks, approx. 8 cm
• 1 star anise
• 8 cloves
• 1 tsp cardamom seeds
• 1 ½ liters of frying oil
• n. B. Salt

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 5 hours; Total time approx. 5 hours 20 minutes

This rendang is cooked until almost no sauce remains. Original title: Rendang sapi alla Bandung.

Deep-fry the fresh or thawed beef in batches in 200°C hot frying oil until light brown. Drain in a pan and then place in a 3-liter casserole dish. Add the coconut water and lime juice. Trim both ends of the onions and garlic cloves, peel them, and roughly chop them. Roast them in the pan with the drained oil until light brown and add to the meat. Wash the small red chilies, slice them crosswise into thin rings, leaving the seeds and discarding the stems. Wash, peel, and finely grate the roots, ginger, and galangal. Wash the fresh lemongrass, removing the tough stalk at the bottom, discarding the brown and wilted leaves, and using only the white to light green parts. Cut these into approximately 8 cm long pieces. Remove the outer green leaves if desired. Gently crush the lower half of the pieces with a hammer, leaving the stem intact. Wash the leaves and use them whole. Break open the cardamom pods. Add all ingredients, from chilies to cardamom seeds, to the casserole dish, mix well, and bring to a simmer. Simmer with the lid on for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Use a coarse sieve to remove all the meat from the broth, and use a finer sieve to remove all other ingredients, such as leaves, cloves, etc., and the lemongrass. Reduce the broth for 1 hour. Then add the meat and coconut milk and continue reducing until only about 160 ml of the sauce remains. Season the rendang with salt and black pepper. Spoon into the prepared serving dishes, serve as a side dish with a little sauce, and enjoy. Note: The rendang freezes well in portions and retains its excellent flavor for months. If you’re not a big fan of rice, it goes very well with spaetzle, wide noodles, and fusilli. The vegetables served in the picture consisted of water spinach (kangkung), spring onions (bawang daun), red chili pepper (cabe besar merah), and 1/4 of a cabbage leaf (cut into strips). A few roasted peanuts or cashew nuts were also added. Light sesame oil was used for the 1-minute stir-fry. The dish was deglazed with a little light soy sauce, a few drops of lemon juice, and a pinch of salt (per person).