How to make Chicken Rendang

Ping Coombes shows how to make rich and flavourful Malaysian dish

Slow-cooked in coconut milk, rending is a Malaysian meat dish that is a version of a dry curry.

“Rendang is best cooked the day before, so the flavor seeps through,” said Ping Coombes, Executive chef at London's Chi Kitchen.

She added: “It’s never pretty, but it tastes pretty darn good.”

How to make Chicken Rendang

Serves 4 – 6

Ingredients:

100g rendang paste, homemade or shop bought

6 chicken thighs, on the bone

1 lemongrass, cut into half and bashed

1 cinnamon stick

2 kaffir lime leaves

60g dessicated coconut, toasted

400ml coconut milk

150ml water

2 tbsp oil

Seasoning

1 tbs chicken stock powder

1 tbs tamarind paste

1 tsp sugar

¼ tsp salt


 Chicken rendang

Method:

Heat oil in a wok or a heavy based casserole dish.

Fry off the paste with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and cinnamon stick. Add chicken, water and coconut milk.

Bring to boil and lower the heat to simmer with the lid uncover. Stir often to avoid sticking. Simmer for 20 minutes.

In the meantime, toast the desiccated coconut in a frying pan until golden brown, usually takes about 5 – 7 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Add the seasoning and the toasted coconut. Simmer for another 15 – 20 minutes until the sauce has thickened and the chicken cooked through

Note: Homemade rendang paste recipe can be found in Ping’s book Malaysia.

This recipe is adapted from MALAYSIA: Recipes from a Family Kitchen by Ping Coombes (Orion). Photography (c) Laura Edwards.