Popular Malaysian-Indonesian chicken rendang recipe you can cook at home from scratch! Tender chicken pieces slow-cooked in coconut-flavoured rendang curry sauce. Serve with plain rice to complement the dish. The flavour of rendang chicken is just perfect for our...
Popular Malaysian-Indonesian chicken rendang recipe you can cook at home from scratch! Tender chicken pieces slow-cooked in coconut-flavoured rendang curry sauce. Serve with plain rice to complement the dish.
The flavour of rendang chicken is just perfect for our taste buds and the spices hit the spot. Whenever we crave Indonesian/Malaysian dishes, our first choices are Nasi Lemak, Mee Goreng, and Rendang dishes. If you are craving spicy Asian chicken curries, Spicy Naga Chicken Curry and Ceylon Chicken Curry are our readers' favourite must-try recipes.
[feast_advanced_jump_to]What is Rendang curry?
Rendang is a slow-braised meat dish, cooked in coconut milk, herbs, and spices. The cooking process is similar to Thai Red Curry dishes. The history of rendang curry began in West Sumatra, Indonesia where it was mostly cooked with beef. Later it has become one of the popular curry dishes of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore as well.
Nowadays, rendang curry is cooked using various kinds of meat, poultry and seafood in different countries around the world.
Chicken rendang is called ' Ayam Rendang ' in Indonesian and Malay language. 'Ayam' means chicken and 'Rendang' means slow-cooked stew dish.
Why you'll love this recipe
You can enjoy the classic Malaysian-Indonesian rendang chicken curry at home just by following the simple steps in this recipe. Easy to prepare, requiring supermarket-friendly ingredients only.
It is also a versatile curry that can be cooked with various proteins and vegetables. It can also be stored in portions in the fridge as meal prep. You can prepare rendang chicken curry a day in advance and serve at ceremonies, dinners, or gathering parties. It goes well with rice, roti, nan, bread and even with noodles!
What do we need
How to cook it
Prepare the curry paste ahead by blending all "curry paste ingredients" in an electric mixer or food processor. You can also use mortar and pestle as a traditional grinding method. Heat the pan into medium heat and add oil. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, cinnamon, cloves, and star anise. Let the spices sizzle for a few seconds. Add the prepared curry paste and turmeric. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until the curry paste colour change and fragrant. Then, pour the coconut milk in, stir it well.
Commonly asked questions
Both chicken and beef rendang require same basic ingredients. The curry paste ingredients are also the same but the larger amount of spices will be required for beef rendang due to the different flavor and texture of the meat. Cooking time will also vary with longer time for beef to tender.
You can cook rendang in large batch and store it in a freezer-safe containers and freeze for later use. To reheat it, defrost it overnight in the fridge. Reheat it over the stovetop or in the microwave until hot and add water if the sauce is dry.
To get that coconut flavour, you can use coconut cream, coconut oil or blended coconut shreds as a substitute. As a coconut milk alternative, you can use full cream milk, heavy cream or plant-based milk to achieve the creamy texture but the flavour won't be the same as coconut milk.
Cooking note & variations
Since it is a slow-cooking dish, it is important not to cut the chicken into tiny pieces. Dried red chillies add the right colour for rendang. Soak them in hot water in advance before adding them to the grinder. The amount is adjustable to your liking. Rendang curry sauce must not be too watery. It needs to be slightly dry with oils separated from the curry. Oil curry separation is important. Must cook until the water runs out and the curry gets thickened with oil separated. To achieve the authentic taste of the curry, the most important part is to slow cook the meat with rendang paste, with the right amount of spices and coconut milk. Kerisik ( toasted grated coconut ) - You can also add kerisik for an extra rich coconutty flavour. Kerisik is a fresh coconut shred or frozen grated coconut is toasted and ground. It is used in Malaysian, Indonesian and Singaporean dishes.More deicious chicken curry recipes
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Chicken Rendang
Ingredients
Rendang curry paste
4-5 Onion Shallot onions, roughly chopped1 tbsp Lemongrass Chopped10-12 Dried long red chillies Deseeded and soaked in hot water for 10 mins. 4-5 cloves Garlic Roughly chopped2 tsp Galangal Chopped or sliced2 tsp Ginger Chopped or sliced1 tsp Turmeric powder Or fresh turmeric slicedGarnish
CorianderFresh chilliesInstructions
Notes
Nutrition