If I truly am what I eat, I’d probably be 30% chicken, 30% beef, 30% pork and 10% lamb. Lamb is in fact one of my favourite meats, but unfortunately isn’t as widely available as I’d like it to be. Whenever an opportunity presented itself, I would most certainly jump at it to indulge in some lamb, be it a lamb hotpot stew, the Greek lamb kleftiko, some Turkish lamb köfte, a hot bowl of Indian mutton curry, and last but not least, a generous portion of Lamb Rendang (Rendang Kambing).

My frequent visits to any nasi padang eatery in Jakarta or Singapore would warrant a mandatory portion of rendang kambing. I basically rate the quality of a nasi padang store based on how well they prepare their rendangs! Slow-braised till tender perfection, with an aromatic fragrance that’s unrivaled, this has got to be one of my favourite dishes!

So I called a dear friend, Maria, to ask for her family’s recipe and tips on making one, as well as my auntie who is fantastic at rendangs, and with some help from the internet, came up with the recipe below! Here’s to more rendang kambings in our lives!

Rendang Kambing

Serves 4

• 1kg of butterfield leg of lamb – boneless from The Meat Club, cut into cubes
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 600g of coconut milk
• 5 tbsp kerisik (toasted coconut)

Spice Paste

• 1 tablespoon of tamarind paste
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 large onions
• 6 cloves of garlic
• 7 shallots
• 8 dried red chilli
• 4 fresh chilli padi with seeds removed
• 3 lemongrass
• 1 tablespoon coriander seed
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 1″ chunk of galangal, roughly chopped
• 1/2″ chunk of ginger, roughly chopped

1. Blend the spice paste together in a food processor until smooth
2. Fry the blended paste with oil until fragrant for about 5 minutes
3. Add the lamb and kerisik into the pan and stir briefly
4. Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring every so often, for about 1.5 hours with the pan covered. Alternatively, if you have a pressure cooker / crock pot, you may also transfer it over and cook for 1.5 hours. The sauce should look dry and thickened when done.
5. Serve with rice.

For high quality lamb, head to The Meat Club to order and have it delivered to the comfort of your home!

Tip: Although this isn’t the traditional way of doing it, I have found that cooking in a crock pot would result in a more tender rendang, whereas doing so in a pan may subject some pieces of lambs to get charred.

Enjoy!