Slow cooked Indonesian beef rendang, fluffy sub rolls, spicy sambal and pickled onions… describe a more perfect sandwich!
Done in 3 hours
Serves 4
1kgdiced beef
3shallots
6garlic cloves
4kaffir lime leaves, shredded
Knobfresh ginger
1 tbspgalangal paste
1lemongrass stalk, white portion only, roughly chopped
4red chillies
3star anise
2cloves
1bay leaf
3cardamom pods
1cinnamon stick
1 tbsptamarind paste
50gdark brown sugar
1 cancoconut milk
200gcoconut cream
1 tbspsalt
5red chillies
2birds eye chillies
4garlic cloves
2shallots
8cherry tomatoes
1/2 tspdried shrimp paste (optional)
1lime, juiced
1 tbspbrown sugar
1 tsprice vinegar
Pinch of salt
Sub rolls, pickled red onions, and pepperoncinis
This is a cross between an Italian-Chicago beef sandwich, and Indonesian beef rendang. It's everything you want in a sandwich - spicy, sweet, and tangy.
Blend the chillies, shallots, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lime leaves, and salt. This is your rendang base
Brown the beef in batches, seasoning with salt and pepper.
Add the paste to a pan with a splash of vegetable oil, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, and cardamom pods. Cook until slightly darkened, around 5 minutes.
Add coconut milk, water, sugar, tamarind paste, then add the beef back in. Stir, cover, and leave to cook on low for 2 hours, checking every half hour to ensure it's not stuck to the bottom. Add the coconut cream, then cook for a further 30 minutes.
For the sambal, toast the shrimp paste in a hot dry pan then add the vegetables. Lightly char before blending, either in a food processor or mortar and pestle.
Add everything back to the pan with lime juice, brown sugar, rice vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Cook until jammy and softened, around 10 minutes.
Build your subs - load up the beef onto the rolls, taking care to remove any whole spices. Top with the sambal, then finish with the pickles. Enjoy!
Spencer has been cooking since she got her first Easy-Bake oven at four years old, and began recipe developing professionally whilst completing her Master’s degree in 2020. Born in Los Angeles, she has an inherent love for all things Mexican, Japanese, and Korean, but is also heavily influenced by her family's Louisiana heritage. Spencer loves bright flavours, spice and fusion food. If she were a food, she'd be kimchi - versatile, spicy and funky.
