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Chicken Rendang - amazing Malaysian-Indonesian chicken stew with spices and coconut milk. Deeply flavorful. The best rendang recipe ever!
Recently, there was a huge rendang controversy caused by Master Chef UK judges who said that chicken rendang should have crispy skin, which enraged the entire country of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia and the incident turned into a social media warfare.
As a Malaysia food blogger, I wanted to tell you that chicken rendang, or any rendang, for example: beef rendang, lamb rendang should never have crispy skin. And the rendang sauce should be on the skin!
Chicken Rendang Recipe
Here I have just the perfect chicken rendang recipe for you. Rendang originated from Indonesia but they are very popular and well loved by many in Malaysia.
Chicken rendang is slow cooked and stewed in the rendang sauce and my chicken rendang recipe yields flavorful and tender chicken, with complex structure of flavors, with the intense aroma of the exotic spices.
I love making chicken rendang at home, and serve it with nasi lemak. While it takes some time to prep and make the dish, the end result is so rewarding.
When I sink my teeth into the chicken, the taste immediately transports me back to Malaysia, my home country. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Ingredients For Chicken Rendang
- Chicken thighs
- Cardamom pods
- Cinnamon stick
- Coconut milk
- Cooking oil
- Kaffir lime leaves
- Lemongrass
- Toasted grated coconut
- Star anise
- Water
- Cloves
- Sugar
- Salt
Ingredients For Spice Paste
- Dried chilies
- Lemongrass
- Galangal
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Shallots
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
How To Make This Recipe
Step 1: All all the ingredients of the Spice Paste in a food processor. Blend well.
Step 2: Heat the oil in a skillet, add the Spice Paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom pods and stir-fry them until aromatic. Add the chicken and lemongrass, stir to combine well with the spices.
Step 3: Add the coconut milk, water, and simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently until the chicken is almost cooked.
Step 4: Add the kaffir lime leaves, toasted coconut, stir to blend well with the chicken. Lower the heat to low, cover the lid, and slowly simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender and the liquid has dried up. Add more sugar and salt to taste to taste. Serve immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 383 calories per serving.
What To Serve With This Recipe
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Recipes You Might Like
- Beef Rendang
- Lamb Rendang
- Malaysian Chicken Curry
- Squid Curry
- Ayam Masak Merah (Chicken in Spicy Tomato Sauce)
Chicken Rendang
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless and skinless chicken breasts , or thighs, cut into cubes
- 1/3 cup cooking oil
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 3 star anise
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 lemongrass, white part only, pounded and cut into strips
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 5 kaffir lime leaves, bruised
- 5 tablespoons toasted grated coconut, kerisik
- 1 tablespoon sugar , or to taste
- salt , to taste
Spice Paste:
- 6 shallots
- 1 inch galangal
- 3 stalks lemongrass, white part only
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1- inch piece ginger, peeled
- 10 dried chilies, (chili arbol), seeded
Instructions
- All all the ingredients of the Spice Paste in a food processor. Blend well.
- Heat the oil in a skillet, add the Spice Paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom pods and stir-fry them until aromatic. Add the chicken and lemongrass, stir to combine well with the spices.
- Add the coconut milk, water, and simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently until the chicken is almost cooked.
- Add the kaffir lime leaves, toasted coconut, stir to blend well with the chicken. Lower the heat to low, cover the lid, and slowly simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender and the liquid has dried up. Add more sugar and salt to taste to taste. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- Check out my recipe to make beef rendang
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My chicken rendang was yellow. Why?
Any suggestions
Your dried chilies – are they red in color?
Texture a bit off for me. Wonderful flavor. Maybe I didn’t cook the lemongrass properly? What do you mean when you say the white part, like the heart or…?
The bottom part of the lemongrass.
If I want to make double amount will it work doubling everything
Should be OK.
This was sooo good thank you
Mine turned out watery but didn’t mind at all
So good thank you!!!
I used chicken breast to make my rendang and it tasted amazing! It did take about an hour to reduce the curry paste before adding the chicken to make the curry dry however.
When you say three star anise. Do you mean three whole or three of the eight parts in a seed pod? I think 3 whole will be a bit heavy to balance even for the rest of spicing but I might be wrong and so I ask the author.
Dear god, three whole star anise.
Hi if i use coconut cream, what’s the ratio btwn the cream and water or same?
Same.
Nice… I’ll do it tomorrow.. Tq Chef Kelly ?
You may opt to use a mixture of fresh chillies and dry chillies, perhaps in the ratio of 7 fresh and 3 dried chillies Or 5:5. This will give a reddish color after cooking. Using fresh tumeric will also enhance the flavour
I also suggest that you do not substitute or omit any ingredients for this receipe to maintain its original taste.
Hope this helps and happy cooking!
By 10 dried chillies, arbol chilli
Do you mean that it needs 10 dried chillies AND 10 arbol chillies? Or does it mean 10 dried arbol chillies?
I saw some comments saying their dishes color ends up pale, and it happens to me too. I assume this could be the reason
Just 10 dried chilies, I used arbol.
What do you serve with this?
I have made both beef and chicken rendang, both are delicious, but I agree with those who mention that the color is different from the pictures here, …..there is just no ingredient that will give it such a dark color as in the recipe’s photographs, unless you use tons of tamarind paste maybe ?, but note that tamarind is included in the beef recipe but excluded from the chicken one, I use it anyway, so no idea why it looks so dark in all pictures yet it comes out pale every time you make it…….,