Name: Mushroom Rendang (Rendang Jamur)
Yield: Serves 4 as part of a spread
Cuisine: Indonesia
Ingredients: 4 large red chillies, seeds removed; 70 g (2½ oz) shallots, peeled; 4 garlic cloves, peeled; 2.5 cm (1 inch) ginger, peeled; ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg; 2.5 cm (1 inch) fresh turmeric, peeled, or; 2.5 cm (1 inch) galangal, skin scrubbed; 150 ml (generous ½ cup) coconut cream; 1 tablespoon coconut oil or neutral oil; 3 lime leaves, bruised; ¾ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 scant teaspoonfine sea salt; 1 cinnamon stick; 1 lemongrass stick, bruised; 375 g (13 oz) oyster mushrooms; 2 teaspoons palm sugar or brown sugar; Pinch of ground cloves

Preparation info

Serves
4
as part of a spread

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Nutmeg Trail

By Eleanor Ford

Published 2022

About

The steamy rainforests of Sumatra are the only place where orangutans, rhinos, tigers and elephants coexist. Indonesia’s most westerly island was also once the heart of a spice empire, a hub for Indian and Arab traders and the entry point of Islam to Indonesia. You can taste the legacy in the food, where fresh spice pastes (bumbu) are combined with ingredients like nutmeg, coriander seed, cinnamon and star anise.

Rendang is one of the most complexly flavoured of all Indonesian dishe