I have another post about Beef Rendang, which I made for the first time over 40 years ago for a Malaysian new mother, using her Malaysian cookbook. (It was an adventure.) I recently spotted a recipe on Food52 which was to think of rendang as a pasta sauce, like spaghetti Bolognese. The idea works. Carol was quite complimentary about this dish.
This recipe will make 4 servings and will take about 2 hours.
For the spice paste
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chunked
5 shallots, peeled and chunked
2 dried red chilies, stemmed and seeded
2 fresh red chilies, stemmed and seeded (I used Jalapenos)
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1 tsp. ground turmeric
2 stalks lemongrass, tough outer layers removed, coarsely chopped
For the meat sauce
4 Tbs. neutral vegetable oil
1 lb. ground beef
2 tsp. salt, divided
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 cup coconut milk
½ cup water
2 tsp. brown sugar
¼ cup unsweetened dried coconut, toasted and ground to a paste
8 oz. rigatoni, penne, or similar pasta
Put all of the spice paste ingredients into the bowl of a food processor or blender and blend until finely chopped. (Add a Tbs. or 2 of water as necessary to help the chopping. (Some of the ingredients are fairly tough, and soften less cooking than one might think, so finely chopping them makes a difference in the end.
In a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat until it starts to shimmer. Add the spice paste and saute for 6-8 minutes, or until it thickens and and starts to stick to the bottom of the pot.
While the paste is cooking, seaon the ground beef with ½ tsp. of salt, the cumin, corriander, and fenel. Add to the pot when the paste is done, and cook until the meat is browned and any liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the coconut milk, water, brown sugar, and remaining 1-1/2 tsp. of salt. Stir and cover, and cook the mixture over low heat for about an hour, until the coconut milk caramelizes, the meat softens, and a thick sauce is formed. Stir periodically, particularly towards the end.
When the rendang is almost done, stir in the ground coconut and cook another 10 mintes.
Cook the pasta according to package instructions. Reserving some of the pasta water, drain the pasta and add it to the rendang sauce, stirring well to combine. Add a little pasta water if necessary. Divide between plates and serve.