The Differences Between Indonesian Rendang and Malaysian Rendang (2024)

Rendang is a caramelized meat curry dish from West Sumatra, Indonesia. In 2017, rendang was named as the most delicious food in the world by CNN’s “World Best Foods Reader Choice”, along with Indonesian fried rice in second place and Indonesian satay in 14th place. It says that rendang comes from Indonesia. But, even so, rendang is also often said come from Malaysia.

Regarding claims of the origin of rendang from Indonesia and Malaysia, each of them certainly has their own reasons. However, of course there are differences, both in terms of origin, cooking process, and taste. So, what is the difference between Indonesian rendang and Malaysian rendang?

According to B. Sutomo, the author of Rendang: The World’s Most Delicious Cuisine Champion by CNN GO, rendang has been known in West Sumatra since the 8th century. This food is considered an important dish that must be present during festivals, traditional ceremonies, or celebrations. The philosophical value implied by Minangkabau rendang is quite profound. Rendang has a philosophy of patience, wisdom and perseverance. Recorded in the book Menyingkap Bertuahnya Rendang Minang (2012) by Reno Andam Suri, rendang occupies the highest caste among other dishes and is often referred to as kepalo samba or the parent of foods in the Minangkabau tradition.

Rendang is also considered a symbol of deliberation and consensus that shapes Minang society. Because this food consists of four important elements, first, dagiang (meat) representing traditional leaders or niniak mamak, karambia (coconut) which symbolizes thinkers (candiak pandai), lado (chili) as the embodiment of the religious scholars, and spices that harmonize and unify the whole.

In the article Rendang: The Treasure of Minangkabau published in the Journal of Ethnic Foods (2017), Muthia Nurmufid, et al. said rendang comes from the word marandang or randang which means ‘slowly’. This word refers to the processing of rendang or how to process rendang that is cooked for a long time.

The difference between Indonesian rendang and Malaysian rendang is determined by several factors. Apart from the cooking process, the culinary assimilation process is another factor that causes Malaysian rendang to be different from Indonesian rendang.

Indonesian and Malaysian rendang actually originates from the same origin, namely in the land of Minang, West Sumatra. Once upon a time, it is said that when the Minang people went to migrate to neighboring countries, they had a tradition of bringing rendang. From there, the distribution of rendang to neighboring countries, including Malaysia, began.

Although it comes from the same root, rendang found in Indonesia and neighboring countries, especially Malaysia, has a different texture and color. One of the reasons is the culinary assimilation process that occurs in Malaysia. Because, as we know, Malaysians are not completely from Minang, there are also many people from India who are famous for their rich culinary spices too.

Before discussing what is the difference between Indonesian rendang and Malaysian rendang, basically the rendang in Indonesia and Malaysia has different types. For example, rendang tok, a type of rendang from Perak, Malaysia. Although the appearance is almost the same, the rendang there has been added with Indian curry spices and other spices. Meanwhile in Indonesia, the original West Sumatra rendang also has its own versions. When we go to a Padang stall, the rendang served is different from one another. There are those who serve it dry, many also serve wet rendang.

However, if we talk about the typical Minangkabau rendang, this rendang has a characteristic texture of dry meat (without soup) and is black in color due to the slow cooking process over low heat and has a strong aroma. The color and texture are obtained from the long cooking process using low heat. The process of cooking rendang can take up to 8 hours.

What is the differentiating factor between Indonesian and Malaysian rendang is how to process it. In terms of seasoning, it’s actually more or less the same.

In West Sumatra, cooking rendang requires three stages, namely the gulai (curry), kalio, and rendang stages.

William Wongso, an Indonesian culinary expert, said that the rendang in Malaysia is still in the kalio stage where the meat is cooked for about 2 hours. As a result, the resulting rendang is still reddish yellow meat and soup.

This Kalio stage of rendang is what we still sometimes encounter in Padang stalls on the island of Java. Meanwhile, the original Minang rendang, is definitely dark black and dry because it has passed the ‘rendang’ stage.
Apart from being seen from the cooking process, the distinguishing factor that is so striking from Malaysian and Indonesian rendang is the kerisik. This kerisik is a roasted grated coconut. In Malaysia, people add keris to the coconut milk, spices, and rendang until it dries. The addition of this kerisik serves to thicken the sauce. Meanwhile, rendang in Indonesia, especially in the Minangkabau area, does not use a kerisik to thicken and dry the spices because it has gone through a process of up to 8 hours of cooking over low heat.

So, the conclusion is that the difference between Indonesian and Malaysian Rendang lies in the way it is cooked and the addition of kerisik. So it can be said that Minangkabau rendang and Malaysian rendang are two different foods, even though they have roots from the same culinary tradition.