Rendang comes from the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra. Cooking it is a slow art. Beef is simmered for hours, sometimes more than four, in a wide pan of coconut milk, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, turmeric, chilli and other spices. As the cook stirs and stirs, the coconut milk slowly turns from creamy white to deep golden brown.
The slow cooking does something amazing. The spices soak deep into the meat. The water boils off, leaving only the spices and a little bit of rich, sticky sauce. The final dish is so flavoured that a small spoonful goes a long way.
Because the cooking takes so long, rendang used to be a 'special occasion' food - made for weddings, big family gatherings and the long Ramadan celebrations. The slow cooking also meant the meat could be kept for days without a fridge in the hot climate.
In 2011, CNN ran a worldwide poll for the readers' favourite food. Out of hundreds of dishes from every country, rendang came first. Many Indonesian families framed the news headline on the kitchen wall.