Vegetarian Rendang Recipe & Video (Rendang Sayur) (2024)

What is Rendang?

Rendang is a highly aromatic, slow cooked coconut based curry with a rich and full bodied flavour. Originating in Indonesia, it has long been considered a Singaporean and Malaysian recipe too, belonging to the Malays.

Beef Rendang is the most popular version of this iconic dish, although it did start life with buffalo meat.

This is one of my most treasured childhood recipes. In the 90s, when galangal was not easy to come by here in the UK, any visits home would always end up with me bringing home a huge tub of rendang made by the family.

Given the amount of spices used and the slow cook method, the original, traditional beef rendang, lasts a week in the fridge, easily. And it kept me happy!

Vegetarian Rendang Recipe

All my rendang recipes are based on my mum’s Beef Rendang recipe, with the odd change here and there. After all, as mentioned in the traditional rendang recipe, rendang is open to interpretation, as far as the spices are concerned.

I’ve added some cloves and a star anise to this recipe, as well as some tamarind. This is my only rendang recipe that uses tamarind, because I felt that this vegan rendang needed it.

I have another vegetarian rendang recipe, Vegan Rendang with Tofu and Potatoes. That is going to stay on LinsFood. Click here for that vegan rendang recipe.

It’s a pretty easy recipe, although like all rendang recipes, it does require some ingredients that may not be the easiest to find where you are. Go online, folks, if you can’t find something near you.

Vegetarian Rendang Ingredients

Let’s take a quick look at some of the “pesky” ingredients that you are going to need for our vegetarian rendang today. The turmeric leaves are the only negotiable item on the list!

Lemongrass (Serai)

This should be fairly easy to come by these days, I think. If not in fresh form, then certainly is past or powdered form.

You absolutely must have lemongrass in your rendang. If you can only get the dried version, soak a couple of them in hot water, then slice and add to the paste, preserving the soaking liquid for your vegetarian rendang.

Then drop 3 more straight into the curry. This is because dried lemongrass are a rather insipid version of the real thing.

Click here to read more on how to use lemongrass.

Turmeric Leaves (Daun Kunyit)

These are the leaves that grow off turmeric rhizomes. They have a citrusy and grassy scent which is the identifying aroma of Singaporean and Malaysian Beef Rendang.

Turmeric leaves are very easy to grow, as long as you have access to fresh turmeric. Click here to read more on how to grow turmeric on LinsFood.

If you don’t have access to turmeric leaves for our vegetarian rendang, the next best thing would be Kaffir Lime leaves. But again, those are not the easiest to come by either. Here in the UK, our larger supermarkets stock them.

Failing that, just finish this vegan rendang with some fresh coriander leaves (cilantro).

Kerisik for Vegetarian Rendang

Kerisik is just grated coconut that’s been toasted. It’s a 5-minute job and something that we do, while the dried red chillies are soaking.

Can’t get fresh coconut for our vegetarian rendang? Use unsweetened desiccated coconut, preferably organic, because that means no preservatives.

Galangal

Galangal is a very fragrant rhizome, like turmeric and ginger, but is a completely different ingredient. It belongs to the ginger family, but is nothing like ginger.

You must, you must, you must have galangal to cook an authentic rendang. So do your best to get your hands on it for our rendang sayur. Galangal’s floral, citrusy and pine-like aroma CANNOT be substituted. No matter what other food sites tell you.

Chillies in our Vegan Rendang

Rendang is traditionally a spicy curry and this is as a result of the dried red chillies that we use in the paste. But you’ll be pleased to know that not everyone makes it spicy.

How many chillies you use and the type will influence the heat level of your chicken rendang. If you don’t have access to a variety and only have spicy ones, then you can use as little as just 5 in the recipe below.

The only thing you want to ensure is that you are using non smoky dried chillies. Kashmiri type chillies and what is popularly sold as New Mexico chillies will give you a fairly mild rendang, even if you’re using the full 20 in the recipes.

The more chillies you use, the hotter your vegetarian rendang. Get to know your local chillies where you are, and use the mild ones for a mild curry.

Tamarind

Tamarind is a souring agent used all around the world, and is an ingredient that should be easily available everywhere.

Whether you use the fresh pulp, or paste in a jar, it doesn’t matter. However, when buying tamarind paste, always get the one with the least amount of ingredients as possible.

Preferably, you want one that’s only got tamarind and water.

Click the button below to learn more about tamarind.

What Vegetables for our Vegan Rendang?

Whatever your heart desires. I’ve got carrots, courgettes (zucchinis), eggplants, celery and some peas.

You could use any other vegetables, there really is no limit to the variety, whether it’s beans, bell peppers, cabbage. And you can also add pulses to this in the form of kidney beans, chickpeas or any other beans you fancy.

Just remember to cook the vegetables accordingly if some of them want a shorter cooking time, like you bell pepper and green beans.

You’ll see in the recipe below that I’m adding all the vegetables at the same time and only cooking for 30 minutes.

What do you eat with Rendang Sayur?

There are a few traditional accompaniments to rendang. Bear in mind that while rendang is a dish that can be bought daily at our hawker centres and restaurants, it is still a festive dish.

So, rendang is very often served with Nasi Minyak, a fragrant yellow rice, that I call the Malay Pilau rice. Take a look at the gallery below. So you can serve our vegetarian rendang with that too.

Lemang, which is glutinous rice in bamboo poles cooked over open flames, is another very popular starch for rendang. This is a highly prized combination that is synonymous with Eid celebrations, or Hari Raya in Malay.

I have a recipe here and on YouTube showing you how to make lemang WITHOUT the bamboo. It went viral in Ramadan 2020 because of Covid-19 and the closure of food stalls!

And on that note, let’s go get cooking! If you have any questions at all, just drop me a line!