History
The origin of rendang could be traced to Sumatran Minangkabau region. For Minangkabau people, rendang has been part of their daily life and traditional ceremony beyond historical records. The rendang making spread to regional Malay culture, to Mandailing, Riau, Jambi, across the strait to Malacca and Negeri Sembilan where large numbers of overseas Minangkabau resides. Today rendang is considered as local dish in both Sumatra and Malay peninsula.
Andalas University historian, Prof. Gusti Asnan suggests that rendang began to spread across the region when Minangkabau merchants and migrant workers began to trade and migrate to Malacca in 16th century. “Because the journey through the river waterways in Sumatra took much time, a durable preserved dry rendang is suitable for long journey.” The dried Padang rendang is known as a durable food. It is well preserved and good to consume for months even left in room temperature, a perfect travelling logistics for a long journey.
The popularity of rendang is widely spread way across its original domain because of the merantau (migrating) culture of Minangkabau people. The overseas Minangkabau leave their hometown to start a career in other Indonesian cities as well as neighboring countries. They work in offices, trade textiles, start their own businesses, and some might open Padang restaurant, a Minangkabau eating establishments that ubiquitous in every Indonesian cities. These Padang restaurants are credited to introduce and popularize rendang and other Padang food dishes across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, as far as Europe and United States.
Read more about this topic: Rendang
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