Mushroom Rendang — Oyster Mushrooms Cooked Dry, Proper Rendang Style

coconut milk

🥗Healthier: light coconut milk

💰Cheaper: evaporated milk

Light coconut milk reduces calories while maintaining creaminess.

mushrooms

🥗Healthier: tofu

💰Cheaper: tempeh

Tofu offers a similar texture and absorbs flavors well.

Start with oyster mushrooms, which are mild in flavor and absorb sauces well.

Prepare the spice paste using shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, red chili, and turmeric; pound or blitz into a paste.

In a cold pan, add coconut milk aiming for about half the weight of your mushrooms.

Add a generous amount of the spice paste, aiming for half the weight of your coconut milk.

Tear the mushrooms by hand into smaller pieces to help them absorb flavors better.

Add salt, aiming for 0.4% of the total weight of the mushrooms after shrinkage, which will give about 1% salt overall.

Gradually bring the heat up to release moisture from the mushrooms and allow them to absorb flavors from the paste and milk.

After about half an hour of gentle simmering, you should hear a slight sizzle at the bottom of the pan as moisture evaporates and flavors concentrate.

Crank up the heat slightly to build flavors and evaporate the remaining moisture, stirring occasionally.

Once you hear the bottom sizzling, start mixing to prevent burning.

As the temperature rises, a golden layer of fond will develop, indicating caramelization and concentrated flavors.

Introduce the remaining mushrooms at this stage to create layered flavors and textures, adjusting the ratio based on your preference for mushroom flavor versus rendang flavor.

If the mixture gets too dark, add a small dash of water to lift the fond and continue layering flavors.

Decide how crispy you want the first batch of mushrooms to be, and leave them to cook for about 30 seconds for a hint of burnt coconut and caramel flavor.

Finish with a dash of lime juice or tamarind juice for added richness.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens