The real story
In Minangkabau kitchens the same pot has three names. In the first hours it is gulai, a loose curry; as the coconut milk thickens it becomes kalio, which many families eat as is; only after hours more of stirring, when the oil separates and the meat turns almost black, is it rendang.
That dryness is the point. With most of the water cooked out and the spices acting as preservatives, rendang keeps for weeks without a fridge, which made it the food of merantau: the Minang custom of young people leaving home to make their way elsewhere. In 2011 about 35,000 readers of CNN Go voted it the most delicious food in the world, with nasi goreng right behind it.
