Vegan Beef Rendang Recipe (Bruneian Curry)
If you’re into spicy food, and we mean REALLY spicy food, then give our 100% vegan “Beef” Rendang a try, made with vital wheat gluten to emulate the taste and texture of the real thing.
This is the national dish of Brunei, a small sunny country in Southeast Asia, and is best served with another favourite in Brunei, Nasi Lemak, which is a three ingredient rice recipe infused with coconut milk.
This meal may take a bit of time to prepare (the vegan beef simmers for an hour and a half) but believe us, it’s well worth the time and effort. Maybe for a special occasion or for those who just want to try something new.
Take a look at our vegan asian recipes page for more like this!
Vegan Beef Rendang (Bruneian Recipe)
Have you ever tried to make vegan beef before? No? Why not give it a try! This recipe is super spicy and the national dish of Brunei, that's right, "Beef" Rendang!
Ingredients
Vegan Beef (Dry Ingredients)
- 1 tbsp mushroom Powder
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
Vegan Beef (Wet Ingredients)
- 70 grams extra-firm tofu moisture removed
- 2 tbsp white miso paste
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce
- 1.5 tsp tamari/soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 160 ml water
Vegan Beef (Broth)
- 12 cups water
- 2 onions peeled & quartered
- 1 carrot chopped
- 6 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup tamari/soy suace
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp demerara sugar
- 1 tbsp mushroom powder
- 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
Rendang Paste
- 10-15 dried red chillis de-seeded
- 10 shallots peeled
- 3/4 inch fresh ginger peeled & sliced
- 3/4 inch fresh galangal peeled & sliced
- 3 stalks fresh lemongrass thick bottom third only
- 1/2 inch fresh turmeric
- 1/2 cup coconut milk full-fat
Other Ingredients
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- 2 cups coconut milk full-fat
- 1 cup water
- 2 kaffir lime leaves torn roughly
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp salt
Instructions
For the Vegan Beef Broth
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Add all ingredients to a large pan and bring to a boil.
For the Vegan Beef
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Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
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Place all wet ingredients in a blender and mix until well combined (be sure to crumble your tofu).
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Add the wet to the dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time until all the dry and wet ingredients become one.
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Knead your "beef" by hand for 10 minutes - punch the day lights out of it. This is very important as this gives it the meaty texture.
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Add your "beef" to the vegan beef broth, cover and simmer for 1.5 hours.
For The Rendang Paste
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Start by soaking your dried chillis in warm water for 10 minutes. Then drain and de-seed (see notes for details).
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Add the chillis, shallots, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, turmeric and coconut milk to a blender and blitz until well combined. Leave to one side.
Creating The Dish
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In a wok, dry fry the desiccated coconut on a low heat for around 7 minutes, or until golden brown.
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Allow to cool and then grind the coconut in a pestle and mortar until it forms a powder. Leave to one side.
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Once the beef has simmered, take out of the broth and cut up into uneven squares.
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In a wok, add the chopped beef, coconut milk and water - bring to a boil and stir constantly.
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Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for around 25-30 minutes (add a bit of water if the mixture becomes way too dry).
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Add the ground coconut, kaffir lime leaves, sugar and salt, and stir-fry for an additional 5 minutes.
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Serve with traditional Nasi Lemak (Bruneian Coconut Rice) or rice of your choice.
Recipe Notes
- Simply blitz dried porcini mushrooms to create mushroom powder.
- If you'd prefer your Rendang with much less heat, use 3-5 dried chillis rather than the traditional 10-15 (WARNING, it will blow your head off!)
- You can use powdered turmeric for the Rendang paste if you don't have any fresh to hand.
