“Too many spices to list” is how the menu describes the beef rendang at Kaki Lima, the Indonesian pop-up that takes over KO Pies’ East Boston shipyard home on Mondays and Tuesdays. But if you ask Peter Gelling to elaborate on the version cooked by his wife, Retno Pratiwi, he’ll happily rattle off a handful of spices: galangal, nutmeg, bird’s eye chiles, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric leaves—an essential but tough-to-find ingredient that the couple grows at their nearby apartment. The payoff is marvelous, with an intricate, fragrant and incredibly rich “dry” braise that’s completed by the accompanying jasmine rice, sweet pickled vegetables and grassy pepper-tomatillo sambal.

Beef rendang, $16 at Kaki Lima at KO Catering and Pies, 256 Marginal St., Boston (617-650-0696)
kakilimaboston.com