In Perak, where I come from, rendang pelampong is very popular. This is a rendang made from cow's lungs. The best of it's kind is dry (Perak afterall is the master of dry rendangs) with a wonderful soft texture from the lungs. Now you might think that lungs, like tripe for instance might get rubbery if cooked too long. However, our breathing apparatus is made out of more delicate matter. Cook it too long and it will disintegrate.
Hence making a rendang with it seemed contradictory. Rendang is one of those Malay dishes designed to simmer for a long time, rendering all the spices and herbs into the meat. Therefore, rendang pelampong is a delicate balance between getting the gravy ready, popping the sliced boiled lung at the right moment and cooking it just long enough to get a wonderful soft texture with a little bit of chewiness.
This recipe is from our family cook. She makes one of the best rendang pelampongs and over a course of a few phone calls, I managed to get the gist of her recipe (natural cooks seldom have any) and tried to make it in my kitchen. Hopefully you might do the same in yours.
Not the most attractive of meats, the texture nevertheless is wonderful...
Mak Siah's Rendang Pelampong
Ingredients:
1 kilo lungs
½ kilo shallots, sliced thinly
½ cup young ginger, julienned
3 Tbs chilli paste
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp fennel powder
2 turmeric leaves, shredded finely
200g kerisik (dry fried coconut)
1 kilo fresh coconut mil
2 Tbs brown sugar
Salt to taste
½ cup oil
"A wonderfully fragrant and tender dish..."
Method:
Cut lungs into 4 chunks and boil for 20 minutes until slightly soft.
Toss it strainer, then slice as desired usually in 1 cm slices.
Heat up oil, fry ginger and shallots until fragrant.
Add in chilli paste, stir it around and toss in fennel powder and pepper.
Once a little fragrant, add in sugar and kerisik.
Add in santan and let it simmer until oil breaks through the surface.
You should now get a dark brown almost black gravy.
Add in lungs, turmeric leaves and salt to taste.
Lightly mix and let the gravy dry a little-- about 15 minutes.
Results:
You should get a lovely dry rendang with tender pieces of lungs in it. I can't quite get mine as dry as Mak Siah's. The gravy is still a little wet but nevertheless it tasted wonderful.
Again, don't cook it too long or stir it too much. You don't want to end up with pelampong mush.
Chef says:
As with any cooking that involves innards, it does take a little practice to make sure that the 'organ' smell and taste is not overpowering. You need to really clean organs properly and get them as fresh as possible to get enjoy the full potential of their hidden flavours.
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