Delicious Vegan Rendang Recipe With Mushrooms

Vegan rendang is creamy, spicy, nutty and warming. After the paste is made, the mushrooms cook super-fast and absorb all of the layers of flavor — delicious!

Rendang is one of the most famous dishes from Indonesia. It is traditionally made with slow-cooked beef in a spicy coconut sauce and is served with white rice. Vegan rendang can be made using mushrooms or jackfruit instead of beef. In this recipe we use closed cup mushrooms, but you can also use king oyster mushrooms. If you’d like to use oyster or button mushrooms, be sure to reduce the final cooking time as they will cook faster. 

If you don’t like spicy food, add fewer chilies or omit them. You can also omit the macadamia nuts or candlenuts if you can’t find any at your local supermarket. Serve rendang warm with white rice.

You’ll love the rich, flavorful taste of vegan rendang. Let’s get started and learn how it’s done.

How to Make Vegan Rendang

Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients:

• 25 dried, red chilies (or fewer, to taste)
• 2 slices of ginger
• 2 lemongrass stalks
• 6-8 shallots
• ½ bulb garlic
• 20 oz. king oyster mushrooms
• 5 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 5 candlenuts or macadamia nuts (optional)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1⅓ cups coconut milk
• 3 tbsp. palm or coconut sugar
• Handful of lime leaves

Instructions:

1. Remove the seeds from the dried chilis and boil in a small pot until soft, about five minutes.
2. Slice the ginger and cut the green part off the lemongrass stalks. Peel the shallots and garlic.
3. Clean the mushrooms with a damp dish towel, then cut off the base of the stalk (the tough end) and discard. Chop the mushrooms into quarters and set aside.
4. Put the boiled dried chilis, ginger, white part of the lemongrass stalks, shallots, garlic, two tablespoons of oil, candlenuts or macadamia nuts, and salt in a blender. Blend until they form a smooth paste.
5. Add remaining oil to a large frying pan and heat on medium to low heat.
6. Pour the paste into the frying pan and add the green parts of the lemongrass stalk. Stir continuously.
7. Cook until the color darkens and the oil starts to separate from the paste.
8. Pour in the coconut milk and cook for thirty seconds, mixing well. Add the chopped mushrooms and cover.
9. Simmer for five minutes, until the mushrooms are soft.
10. Season with sugar and simmer for a further minute.
11. Add the lime leaves and remove the lemongrass stalks.
12. Serve immediately with rice.

Vegan rendang can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to two days and reheated on the stove or in the microwave.

Read more:

• Tamarind Paste Substitute: 10 Alternatives & How to Use Them
• Easy Vegan Crock Pot Chili Verde
• Can You Freeze Coconut Milk? What to Keep in Mind

** Links to retailers marked with ** or underlined orange are partially partner links: If you buy here, you actively support Utopia.org, because we will receive a small part of the sales proceeds. More info.

Tags: Cooking Dinner Guide Lunch Recipes Vegan