JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com – World famous chef Gordon Ramsay learned how to make Minang special rendang directly from culinary expert William Wongso in the Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted program which aired on Monday (6/29/2020).
Also read: Profile of William Wongso, Rendang Diplomat Becomes Mentor Gordon Ramsay
In the program that aired on the National Geographic Channel, Gordon was immediately greeted with a traditional Minang ceremony held at the Pagaruyung Palace.
After meeting with William Wongso there, he was invited to enter the palace to enjoy a banquet.
This tradition of banquets is called bajamba, where women carry trays of various foods. One tray is for four people and is served on the floor.
During the meal, Gordon tasted a lot of food. Starting from potato cakes, baby eels, to the legendary rendang.
There also William Wongso challenged Gordon to compete with rendang in their own way. William in the traditional way and Gordon in his own way.
The rendang will then be presented and assessed by West Sumatra Governor Irwan Prayitno at the end of the event.
Find the best beef
To be able to present the best rendang, Gordon also ventured across West Sumatra to find the best ingredients. One of the most important is finding the best beef for rendang.
Gordon, accompanied by Ade Putri, an Indonesian food writer who is also part of I Love Indonesian Food (ACMI), took Gordon to several places in West Sumatra.
Ade invites Gordon to the pacu jawi event, a kind of traditional bull race in West Sumatra.
Gordon was challenged again to try the jawi runway to be able to get the best beef. After trying and falling over and over again, he finally managed to run a jawi run as far as a few meters.
“You were like being pushed hard, then thrown. If you don’t hold on, you end your history, ”Gordon said.
The secret is that you have to lean forward snugly, your head between the backs of the two cows. Head down, hold the handle, and close your eyes. Just feel it, “he continued while laughing.
Fishing and fishing for shrimp
After getting the beef, Gordon also tried fishing in the Padang coastal sea with the tour guide Benama Rusti. There, he tried to lay a net along the ship that ended with him falling into the sea.
In addition to looking for sea fish, Gordon was also invited by Ade to fish for freshwater shrimp.
There is something unique about the location of the shrimp fishing, which is located in a cave whose entrance is so low that Gordon and Ade are forced to bow their heads so as not to hit a large rock.
But after fishing for an hour or so, there were no signs that the shrimp would be hooked.
Luckily, soon there was a fishing boat that managed to get enough shrimp which Gordon bought.
Teasing traditional herbs
The next step in responding to William Wongso’s challenge, Gordon came to a traditional market to hunt for rendang with a young rendang master named Katuju.
There, he found a variety of traditional herbs to make rendang. Starting from garlic, onion, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, ginger, to chili.
Gordon looks amazed at the state of the market. He also tasted food sold there such as chicken feet soup.
Together with Katuju and a mother selling spices on the market, Gordon also tried to make basic fine spices using traditional mortars and crackers.
An illustration of a traditional mortar and ulcer, a tool used to test Minang’s special spices. –
He had difficulty in the smoothing process. Even some onions could be seen thrown from the mortar and hit the spice seller, making everyone laugh.
“Please tell the women to stop laughing, I’m getting embarrassed. I was already depressed enough to face chef William Wongso, but this is harder than it looks, “Gordon said.
After the spices were successfully made, Gordon brought the refined spices to be cooked together with other spices in a small warung kitchen that looks still around the market.
Adu cooks with William Wongso
Gordon had started making rendang seasoning 10 hours earlier. The next day, he brought his homemade herbs to the cooking area with William Wongso.
There, he and William each made a different version of Rendang. William with the traditional version while Gordon with a few changes.
Gordon uses tenderloin meat which is well known but is rarely used as shredded meat. He also burns the meat before mixing it with the chopped gravy.
Illustration of typical Minang beef rendang. –
The rendang cooking process was interrupted by the arrival of rain.
However, because they had to serve food to the governor of West Sumatra, finally Gordon and William were forced to use a large skillet to cover their heads while continuing to cook.
In addition to making beef rendang, Gordon also makes fish rendang made from skipjack tuna caught by fishermen who he helped to put a net on his boat.
He also made eggplant sambal and dessert in the form of buffalo milk yogurt or dadiah with sticky rice and durian. While William Wongso serves rendang meat, curried fern with cream, and grilled shrimp.
Apparently, Gordon and William’s dish was considered “lamak bana” or very delicious by the governor of South Sumatra who came with his family.
“For the result, because I taught, the seasoning we taught is not embarrassing,” William Wongso said, laughing.
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