Chicken Rendang

A Malaysian staple and favourite, chicken rendang is a dish that graces every kenduri, festive occasions and house warming parties. The dish is a wonderful concoction of local ingredients, with chicken pieces drenched in thick gravy cooked with coconut milk, chilli paste, lemongrass, kaffir lime and turmeric leaves. Rendang is most aptly described as meat slow-cooked in a variety of spices and coconut milk until tender, it is truly a dish rich in flavour and historical origins.

Back in the days before modern inventions like refrigerators and freezers, local communities in tropical countries preserved meat by slow cooking, dry rendang can last up to four weeks if cooked properly! Rendang has a complex and distinctive taste unique to Malaysian cuisine because of the generous usage of spices. There is a variety of rendang dishes which differs across states in Malaysia — from the traditional rendang Minangkabau cooked with beef and green chilli to the rendang Kelantan cooked with a unique spice known as kerutub, coconut milk and palm sugar. Slow cooking chicken rendang requires patience, wisdom and persistence to achieve the desired taste and texture. Come try your hands on cooking this traditional Malay dish that whets the appetite of many!

Firstly, blend ingredients such as onion, garlic, ginger, galangal, chili paste and lemongrass with water until smooth, then saute the mixture until the oil splits. Next, add in sliced shallots, garlic, lemongrass, lime leaves, turmeric leaves, chicken breast, chicken thighs, palm sugar, MAGGI® Cukup Rasa™, and mix well. A flavourful chicken rendang dish takes slightly longer to cook over low heat to avoid burning and tenderising the meat so that it absorbs all the condiments. After that, add in some water, coconut milk and kerisik, simmer until the gravy thickens and it’s ready to be served.

Enjoy your chicken rendang with steamed white rice or soft white bread — you’ll want more to go with the rich, creamy chicken rendang after every bite! Discover a variety of recipes for traditional dishes at MAGGI®: Sabah Tuhau chicken fried MAGGI mee, sambalicious tongkol fish and super simple MAGGI CukupRasa fried basung fish.