Why is today’s Google Doodle about the Indonesian dish rendang?

Curry lovers, rejoice! Because today Google is doing its best to whet your appetite.

The search engine has dedicated its Doodle page to the beloved Indonesian stew, rendang, which is recognised as part of the country’s cultural heritage and a prized national dish.

You may have sampled it from a Singaporean, Filipino or Malaysian restaurant ( Roti King in London does a great one) but, in fact, the origins of rendang date back to 16th century Sumatra.

The Minangkabau – the Indonesian island’s largest ethnic group – used spices and coconut milk to create the rich, normally beef-centric, dish. However, they differentiated it from other curries by cooking it for much longer, making it thicker and less saucy.

Migration and flourishing trade soon brought rendang to other parts of South East Asia, where it was celebrated for its bold yet comforting taste.

Inevitably, different cultures have since created their own adaptations of the curry. For example, the Philippines adds the condiment palapa (made of ginger, coconut, onions, garlic, salt, and shallots), as well as native spices and muscovado sugar, as Google notes in its blurb to the doodle.

It is now so treasured by people across the world that, in surveys conducted by CNN in 2011 and 2017, rendang was voted the most delicious food in the world.

Clearly, lots of people love this spicey stew, but why did the search engine decide to create a shout-out to it today?

The reason, it states on its website, is that on this day (21 August), the West Sumatra governor received a trophy from the Indonesian Record Museum for the biggest rendang online cooking event of all time.

All that remains to be said is, if you haven’t tried rendang yet, maybe today’s the day?

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