Dear Tiger Hamdan Azmir of Koler Kangsor,
It gives me pleasure to be of service to you who I met, 30 years ago, when you
were in Form 5 as Capt of KE7 rugby. You did not listen to my advice then or
you will now be a general in the Army or an Admiral in the Navy. Apalah you?
Rendang Tok is a very dark, dry beef rendang famous throughout the state of
Perak. It has the most extensive list of ingredients and is believed to be
created by royal cooks who had the means to acquire spices normally out of the
reach of the general populace. Indian influences can be seen in the addition of
spices used in curries. One of the unique characteristics of rendang Tok is
that it contains shards of dry-fried coconut flesh. This gives it an extra
"lemak" taste. You must take your time to enjoy this rendang and
don't cast aside the floss-like stuff sticking to the beef - roll it on your
tongue and feel it melting in the mouth, leaving behind a taste of galangal,
lemongrass, gula Melaka and..... dark chocolate !! Perak also has a simpler
rendang dish, the rendang pedas, which is similar to rendang Johor - minus the
belacan.
50g cumin
50g coriander seeds
40g fennel seeds
Spice paste:
150g shallots
100g galangal,sliced
30g fresh turmeric root, sliced
40g dried red chillies, seeded and soaked
40g garlic
1 asam keping
100ml oil (chap pisau is best)
5cm cinnamon stick
4 star anise
10 cloves
30g black peppercorns, crushed
1 kg beef, cut into cubes
1 litre thick coconut milk
3 stalks lemongrass,crushed
1 tsp sugar or to taste
250g freshly grated coconut, dry roasted and pounded to make
kerisik
200g coconut shavings, dry roasted until lightly browned
2 turmeric leaves, roughly torn
In a dry wok or pan, fry the coriander seeds, fennel seeds and cumin
separately, until aromatic. Grind all the seeds together until powdery. Set
aside.
Blend the spice paste ingredients finely.
Heat the oil in the wok over low heat. Fry the cinnamon, star anise and cloves
until fragrant. Add the spice paste, peppercorns and the ground coriander
seeds, fennel seeds, and cumin. Cook, stirring, until fragrant - about
5-10 minutes.
Add the beef, coconut milk and crushed lemongrass. Cook over medium heat,
stirring occasionally, until gravy is thick and beef is tender. Season to taste
with sugar and salt. Add the
kerisik, toasted coconut shavings and
turmeric leaves. Lower heat and cook, stirring continuously, until rendang is
dry and oil appears.
N.B.
Beef. Orang Perak like to use buffalo meat coz its coarser than beef.
The success or failure of a rendang is how tender the meat is. I use NZ prime
steer sirloin at RM 36.00 per kg. This is ridiculous if you are doing business.
If you are using local or Indian meat, you need to pressure cook your meat for
35 minutes from the
'hiss'.
Here is my secret. Add Sichuan pepper (Wikipedia for knowledge). Sichuan
pepper is sold in Chinese medicine shops for RM 2.00 per gm. If you have
difficulty in getting it, I'll send to you immed by post. I have enough fresh
pepper from Sichuan to last me four winters. For one kg of beef, you need one
tbsp of Sichuan pepper only. Mix it with one tbsp of sea salt and dry-fry in a
skillet for 3-4 minutes. Do not burn. Pound them using mortar & pestle
until fine. Add it together with the
kerisik. Your rendang will reflect
that you are a super Tiger of Teipin.
Hey mak, ngelior benor teman dengor nye !! Rasor ngering ngeulu.
