Eight-hour ox cheek rendang on a plate with fresh coriander

Eight-hour ox cheek rendang

Name: Eight-hour ox cheek rendang
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 h
Total time: 8 h 20 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 4 tbsp vegetable oil; 800g ox cheek trimmed and cut into 3cm chunks; 1 cinnamon stick; 4 star anise; 4 cloves; 6 cardamom pods crushed; 2 lemongrass stalks bashed; 400ml coconut milk; 4 tbsp tamarind paste; 8 lime leaves stalks removed, finely sliced; 4 tbsp light brown sugar; 4 tbsp tamarind paste; 8 lime leaves stalks removed, finely sliced; 4 tbsp light brown sugar; 4 tbsp dessicated coconut; Handful coriander chopped, to serve; 200g shallots roughly chopped; 1 garlic bulb cloves separated; 4 lemongrass stalks bases only, finely chopped; thumb-sized piece galangal roughly chopped, or 1 tbsp galangal paste; thumb-sized piece ginger roughly chopped; 10 dried red chillies soaked in hot water until soft

Shu Han Lee

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Serves 4 - 6

Easy

Prep: 20 mins

Cook: 8 hrs

A star rating of 5 out of 5.1 ratingRate

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A dry curry with incredibly tender meat, the ox cheek slow cooks resulting in caramelised meat seasoned with whole spices and lemongrass stalks

Gluten free

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Try the recipe for eight-hour ox cheek rendang, then try our beef shin rendang, short rib rendang and John Torode's beef rendang. Now find out 10 things we love about Singaporean cuisine.

Recipe extracted from Agak agak: everyday recipes from Singapore by Shu Han Lee (£26, Hardie Grant). Photographs by Ola Smit.

Shu says, "A rendang is a dry curry. You might be tempted to stop the process too soon – not least because it smells incredibly delicious even halfway through – but be patient! The hours of simmering turn the cooking process from boiling to frying. As the liquid evaporates, the meat ends up caramelising in its own fat and the fat that separates from the coconut milk. This gives the rendang its glorious deep colour and intense, rich flavours."