Beef Rendang

Name: Beef Rendang
Prep time: 7 min
Cook time: 14 min
Total time: 21 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 1lb Beef; 5 tbs Vegetable Oil; 1 Cinnamon Stick; 3 Cloves; 3 Star Anise; 3 Cardamom; 1 cup Coconut Cream; 1 cup Water; 2 tbs Tamarind Paste; 6 Lime; 1 tbs Sugar; 5 Challots

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Beef recipe with Malaysian flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 41 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 21 min total

1lb Beef
5 tbs Vegetable Oil
1 Cinnamon Stick
3 Cloves
3 Star Anise
3 Cardamom
1 cup Coconut Cream
1 cup Water
2 tbs Tamarind Paste
6 Lime
1 tbs Sugar
5 Challots

Step-by-step instructions

Chop the spice paste ingredients and then blend it in a food processor until fine.
Heat the oil in a stew pot, add the spice paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom and stir-fry until aromatic. Add the beef and the pounded lemongrass and stir for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, tamarind juice, water, and simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently until the meat is almost cooked. Add the kaffir lime leaves, kerisik (toasted coconut), sugar or palm sugar, stirring to blend well with the meat.
Lower the heat to low, cover the lid, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is really tender and the gravy has dried up. Add more salt and sugar to taste. Serve immediately with steamed rice and save some for overnight.

Why this works on a weeknight

Beef Rendang genuinely fits a 30-minute weeknight window, which is why it earned a spot in our Stir-Fry collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Beef Rendang actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥢 Stir-Fry Beef Malaysian ⚡ 30-Min Dinner