Malaysian Beef Stew with Toasted Coconut and Lemon Grass (Beef Rendang)

Beef rendang is one of Malaysia’s best-known dishes. The stew features tender chunks of beef in a rich coconut sauce that’s aromatic with red chilies, lemon grass, shallots, garlic and turmeric. Coconut milk or cream is used for simmering, but the stew’s defining flavor and thick, clingy consistency come from kerisik, which is made by pounding darkly toasted fresh coconut to a dryish, granular, slightly oily powder or paste. Kerisik brings unique nutty, roasted, bittersweet notes and a fragrance that defines rendang. We mimic its flavor simply by toasting unsweetened shredded coconut to the color of light- to medium-roast coffee, no pounding needed. Our recipe is based on one taught to us Annie Zainal Abidin, a home cook in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. We chose beef chuck roast as the cut, as it's richly flavored and well marbled, making it well suited to long, slow cooking; and we rely on the oven for steady, fuss-fee simmering. Serve the rendang with steamed jasmine rice and slices of cucumber that provide a crisp, cool counterpoint.