This week on plant power cooking challenge week 4 I have chosen to use mushrooms tempeh and potatoes with the addition of some cashews.
Rendang curry is popular in Indonesia, Malaysia and other south Asian countries.
I find that it has many interchangeable ingredients with many Asian curries but differs here and there, such as added ingredients as toasted coconut paste.
I got lucky this week at work. On my last day the manager brought a box from the fridge and inside were mixed exotic mushrooms. They had been dropped off by a mushroom supplier or grower as a free sample for the restaurant.
They sat for a week but no one had time to test them. I was overjoyed that they became mine.
One of the mushrooms were called lions mane. These were my favorite and I wish I could get my hands on more of these. Their texture is so chewy and meaty.
We didn't know what the other mushrooms were except for the king oyster.
It was great to have these in the curry in place of the usual chicken or beef Rendang.
I kept the lions mane aside to batter and fry for a garnish.
I made a batter with flour, baking soda, salt and pepper.
I was going to add them to the curry but I thought I would add the extra texture to the top.
I boiled the tempeh in vegetable broth for half an hour. It can be thrown into the main dish as is, but I find it absorbs flavor better if it's precooked.
There were quite a few ingredients that went into this. It could be more simplified but it could be more complex as well. I kind of went for a middle ground.
The curry sauce sometimes has candlenut in it but there is no such thing around these parts. The best substitute would probably be macadamia nuts. I wanted those but it was the only nut with no price on it so I opted for cashews instead. Below are the approximate amounts of ingredients that I used.
Rendang Curry Sauce
1 teaspoon lemon grass
1 teaspoon galangal root
3 bay leaves chiffonade
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 star anise
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon turmeric
4 cloves garlic
4 shallots
1 teaspoon minced ginger
3 small red chilies
2 tablespoons tamarind paste
1/2 cup cashews
1 cup toasted coconut paste
2 cups vegetable broth or more
1/4 cup cane sugar (I usually use agave but I ran out.)
2 or 3 tablespoons soy or tamari sauce. (I used Braggs liquid amino)
2 cups coconut milk
I put all of the above ingredients in the food processor except for broth, the coconut paste,and most of the coconut milk which I added gradually to get the machine going.
Along with tempeh and mushrooms were the addition of one large potato and some eggplant that was in the freezer. I squeeze it out and chopped it up.
Not added to the ingredients list was ground mushroom powder. There is a mushroom powder that is commonly used in Asian cooking which has yeast extract in it. This was not the same thing apparently. I was told it was just ground dried mushroom. My manager gave it to me. It is quite a flavor booster especially when cooking with mushrooms. It also somehow compensates for the usual Rendang paste that often contains fish sauce.
One of my favorite ingredients in this was the coconut. I just happened to have purchased a coconut with the plan of getting the water from it. After I got the water out, I realized it was a waste of coconut. I didn't know how to get it open.
Finally I got out some tools and was determined to see the inside. Let me tell you I almost gave up. I had to resign to the fact that I am a Canadian without a machete.
It was a success! I have never been so excited. Then I struggled for a while to get the flesh out which was quite tough.
Success again but at this point I wasn't sure how to make a coconut paste so I started by toasting the ground up coconut.
I didn't use oil. I stirred the whole time making sure it didn't burn. When it was done I put it through the food processor once more to make a paste. It really didn't become a paste. A mortar and pestle would have made better results but I was satisfied all the same.
I starting cooking the Rendang paste and the toasted spices which I crushed separately.
When it was properly cooked I added the rest of the liquids and the the toasted coconut, kaffir lime leaves, cinnamon stick, ground dried mushroom, and the star anise. The potatoes were added later after they were pre cooked a little.
I added the tempeh which I had browned in a shallow pan separately.
The mushrooms were cooked down in a shallow pan as well with the additional splash of sherry vinegar. I had it given to me so I used it with no real rhyme or reason.
I just loved the texture of these mushrooms and felt sad that I may never find them in a store, except for the oysters.
I reserved the toasted coconut to add as a garnish. That was a topping I wouldn't want to omit from this dish.
Thanks for stopping by folks!