Talk:Rendang

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[edit] Curry?

I don't understand why the article implies a "curry" must make use of "curry powder". 86.139.215.130 17:19, 9 June 2007 (UTC)

It doesn't. It says: "rendang is nothing like a curry and does not contain curry powder" (Caniago 22:11, 9 June 2007 (UTC))
How does that make it not imply that curry must use curry powder? The article appears to offer the fact that it does not use curry powder as evidence it's not a curry. Whereas in actual fact I would be very surprised if it used curry powder if it was an authentically traditional recipe, curry or not. 81.154.143.216 01:38, 11 June 2007 (UTC)
How does it imply curries must use curry powder? If I said "elephants are nothing like birds and do not have wheels", you cannot infer anything about the relationship between birds and wheels - the two parts of the sentence are completely unrelated. (Caniago 02:22, 11 June 2007 (UTC))

[edit] Black pepper or chilis?

Years ago I read somewhere that a real Sumatran Rendang contained no chilis, only (black) pepper. I've recently done some searching and found no indication of this, though I do have at least one recipe (in Malay) that stipulates only black pepper. Can anybody here shed light on this? Groogle (talk) 07:07, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

In Malaysia rendang recipes are often (usually?) corrupted by Indian and Chinese influences, so anything is possible over there. "Authentic" rendang, the type you will find cooked in Minangkabau villages in Sumatra, according to the Indonesian cooking author Sri Owen and my own personal experience, revolves around the ingredients listed in this article - ginger, galangal, turmeric leaf, lemon grass and chillies. Pepper at times has been a commodity grown in the Minang highlands, but to my knowledge isn't a key ingredient in their cooking. I looked up my collection of academic papers covering Minangkabau society, and I found one comment that in certain regions of West Sumatra in the present day, in addition to the spices listed above, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, coriander and white pepper are used in rendang. (Caniago (talk) 14:15, 29 January 2008 (UTC))

This doesn't fit the facts very well. Neither Chinese nor Indian influences would explain the use of a spice typical of Sumatra, one that they don't use themselves in any great quantity. So what did the recipes look like before the arrival of chilis? Groogle (talk) 08:08, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

So what are the facts? You have a recipe in the Malay language. You haven't stated if it is from Indonesia, Malaysia or somewhere else, and what period of time it is from. The Indian and Chinese influences are relevant to how rendang is prepared in Malaysia in the present day. As for what food in Sumatra, and specifically rendang, was like before the arrival of chillis I expect there is very little, if any, remaining evidence available. William Marsden circa 1780 mentions that Sumatrans prefer chillis to pepper in their cooking. He says that pepper is the chief produce and staple commodity of the island, but "never mixed by the natives in their food". Furthermore, "They esteem it heating to the blood, and ascribe a contrary effect to the cayenne". You seem to be assuming for some reason that because pepper was grown in Sumatra it was used as part of the local cuisine at some time. (Caniago (talk) 16:36, 1 February 2008 (UTC))