Fix Rendang
What does cooked bumbu look and smell like?
Keep frying gently before adding the main liquid. Properly cooked bumbu looks glossier and slightly darker, moves as a cohesive paste, and smells sweet and rounded rather than like raw garlic, onion, or powdered spice.
Open matching cook step Action first · no account required
Compare the state
Not ready, ready, or too far?
Pale or bright wet paste
Sharp raw onion smell
Keep frying gentlyDarker cohesive gloss
Sweet rounded aroma and oil glint
Add the next ingredientDry edge with dark specks
Bitter or acrid smell
Remove from heat and save only the unburnt pasteDo this now
- Keep the heat at medium-low.
- Stir from the base and allow steam to escape.
- Wait for the aroma and gloss to change before adding liquid.
Do not do this
- Do not hide raw bumbu under coconut milk or stock.
- Do not chase gloss with excessive oil.
- Do not accept dark burnt specks as normal browning.
Why this happened
Water must cook out before the aromatics can fry properly in oil. The change in smell and movement is usually more reliable than colour alone.
The next correct state
The paste is cohesive and glossy, with no sharp raw-garlic smell and a small oil glint at the edge.