Beef Rendang Subs

Slow cooked Indonesian beef rendang, fluffy sub rolls, spicy sambal and pickled onions… describe a more perfect sandwich!

Done in 3 hours

Serves 4

Dish by Spencer Lengsfield

Ingredients

for the rendang

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

for the sambal

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

To serve

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.

Method

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!

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Spencer Lengsfield

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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.