This is - really - the tastiest vegan rendang ever and a vegan recipe too! David shares his family recipe that you won't find anywhere else: traditional rendang but prepared with jackfruit. This vegan rendang with jackfruit is creamy and definitely not sour!
Vegan rendang with jackfruit according to traditional Indonesian family recipe
Rendang is one of my favourite dishes of an Indian rice table. Delicious. Only, of course, it is made with beef. And of that, we know it is the most taxing meat for the planet. To stop climate change, we all need to eat drastically less meat and especially cut out beef more often. But yes, my beloved rendang then? I decided to use my favourite cookbook Authentic Indian cuisine there and to make this classic recipe with a modern twist. No beef, but jackfruit. A vegan rendang, in other words.
The secret to this delicious vegan rendang with jackfruit: the classic cookbook, my homemade curry paste and a lot of love and patience.
Rendang stew
Rendang has its origins in the Minangkabau culture in Sumatra. It is a slowly simmered meat dish, often prepared with beef, characterised by its deep, spicy flavours and tenderness. The coconut milk and a rich mix of spices such as coriander, cumin, cloves and lemongrass create a special flavour combination. What makes rendang so special is the time-consuming cooking process, which intensifies the flavours and makes the meat - or jackfruit in this case - deliciously tender. The dish is often made for special occasions such as celebrations and ceremonies.
Source: sandwichstories.nl
Jackfruit is the perfect meat substitute for stews
A classic dish that I am giving a modern twist with this recipe. Why jackfruit you may ask. Jackfruit has little flavour, but its stringy texture is very similar to beef and absorbs flavours perfectly. This makes it a good meat substitute for stews, for rendang that is. In restaurants and at food trucks, I like to taste it when vegang rendang with jackfruit is on the menu. What I often notice is that the jackfruit can make the rendang a bit (too) sour. Too bad! But good news: this recipe does not have the sourness. Hence, I dare say: ‘you've never tasted it this good’. Want to know more about jackfruit? Then check out the article: how sustainable is jackfruit?
Vegan rendang with jackfruit
Kitchenware
- food processor/ hand blender/ blender(I use a coffee bean grinder.)
- (saucepan)for rice
Ingredients
- 3 el neutral oil e.g. sunflower or peanut oil
- 3 onions chopped
- 2 tin jackfruit rinsed and drained
- 8 jeroek poeroet leaves (lime leaf)
- 4 salam leaves (Indian laurel)
- 2 stems lemongrass cut off the soft top
- 1 tin coconut milk* Always take the fullest (18% or higher)
- ½ block santen
- 1 (vegan) stock cube or 2x maggi
- coconut rind optional
- flat parsley optional
- Serve with rice or in a bao bun
Making Indonesian paste yourself**
- 1 onion
- 3 cm ginger root peeled
- 3 cm laos root peeled
- 3 cm turmeric root peeled
- 3 toes garlic
- 1 rawit pepper (or more/less to taste) (Chili peppers vary enormously in spiciness, go off to your own taste).
Instructions
Make your own boemboe**
- Mix all the ingredients for the paste in a food processor, hand blender or blender and puree into a paste.
- Use some water and oil if necessary to make sure it ‘blends' well.
Making rendang
- Heat oil in pan (medium/high heat).
- Fry the onions.
- Fry the paste until you smell the spices.
- Add the jackfruit and fry for 2 minutes.
- Add a can of coconut milk (low heat).
- Crush the lemongrass and add.
- Add the salam leaf and djeroek poeroet leaves.
- Add 2 maggi cubes.
- Simmer for at least 90 minutes until the rendang is the right thickness. Use the lid of the pan to release more or less water (half on, almost closed, completely closed).***
- Fifteen minutes before serving; add the santen and put on the lowest (!!) heat. Be careful: if you heat santen too hard, it will start to taste like soap.
- Fully melt the santen into the dish and serve.
- Serve it with rice or as a topping on a bun. Garnish the rendang with coconut rind and flat parsley.
Notes
More food tips from thgreenlist.nl
- Also from Indonesia and also so tasty: sweet and sour cucumber (atjar keti moen).
- Would you also like to experiment more with spices in the kitchen. Then check out these spice tips!
- Looking for a tasty vegan dessert to go with this dish? Then check Our recipe for sticky rice mango.
- More delicious recipes with jackfruit: 4 x jackfruit recipes
Photo credits: thegreenlist.nl.
