Chicken rendang is quick and easy to make.
I love a good chicken rendang. Although beef rendang is still may favourite, chicken rendang has the advantage of being much quicker to cook.
So I do tend to make chicken rendang more often. I hope you love this authentic version that I have been making for years.

So good! Try this chicken rendang!
The history of the chicken rendang…
It’s believed that chicken rendang has Indian origins because of the cooking process and spices that are used.
Indian merchants brought the recipe to Indonesia and there is was adapted by the Minangkadu people to their own taste preferences using local ingredients.
Modern day chicken rendang originated in West Sumatra. It was originally prepared for to take along on long journeys as the spices and salt helped preserve the curry.
In fact, chicken rendang is actually better when stored for a few days after cooking though I haven’t tried taking it on a long journey without refrigeration. I probably won’t be doing that either.
Chicken rendang is also hugely popular in Singapore and Malaysia.
Special ingredients…
Most of the ingredients in an authentic chicken rendang can be easily sourced online and at your local supermarket.
One of the ingredients, is toasted grated coconut, kerisik in Asian shops.
You can easily make it by dry frying grated fresh or frozen coconut in a pan over medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant.

Toasting coconut for the curry.
About the dry chillies…
Dried red bird’s or Kashmiri chillies are used to make an authentic chicken rendang.
I use about 12 but you should always add chillies to taste! If 12 sounds like too many, use less!
You could also add more if you like a super spicy chicken rendang.
If you find it difficult to find whole dried chillies, you could just add chilli powder to taste.
Working ahead…
This chicken rendang recipe is pretty super easy and doesn’t require a lot of preparation.
If more convenient, you could prepare the toasted coconut and cube the chicken a couple of days ahead of cooking.
I recommend getting all your ingredients together before starting though. This is a time saver and makes cooking easier.
It’s aways best to have your ingredients in front of you before starting. That way you won’t need to go searching your cupboards for ingredient while cooking.
Step by step photos

Infuse the whole spices in the oil for about 30 seconds.

Add the prepared rendang paste and fry to cook out the rawness.

Stir in the chicken and brown for a few minutes.

Stir in the coconut milk, lime leaves, tamarind, sugar and toasted coconut.

Simmer for about 30 minutes or until you are happy with the sauce consistency. The sauce should be quite thick.

So good!

Dig in!
I recommend serving chicken rendang with jasmine or Basmati rice.
Chicken Rendang
Ingredients
Instructions
Sophie Cole
Wednesday 30th of March 2022
This was delicious and so satisfying to know I had cooked it from scratch! I was a bit confused as my sauce was pale white and yet in the picture it’s fairly dark yet I followed the recipe exactly. Will definitely be making again, perhaps beef next time!
Dan Toombs
Monday 4th of April 2022
Don't be too concerned about the colour of it, it depends a lot on the source of the ingredients used. As long as it tasted good... Thanks Dan