Finally, I get to try out this recipe that I have been keeping my eyes on ever since I sawWendy's post, After seeing it again in Phong Hong's blog, I know I will be cooking this too despite the very long ingredients used. As Wendy said, it is quite easy to cook once you get the cutting and blending stuff out of the way. Wendy cook this dish with the whole bird intact while Phong Hong cut her bird up into big pieces....I cut mine into bite sizes so it's easier to eat:D
Recipe modified by : WendyinKK
Original source: Pahang State Palace
1 whole chicken (1.5-1.8kg) (I used half a chicken, cut into chunky bites and half a breast)
10 shallots, peeled
5 cloves garlic, peeled
10 dried red chillies, seeds removed
20gm ginger (clean weight)
20gm galangal (lengkuas, clean weight)
10gm turmeric root (kunyit hidup, clean weight)(I used 1 tsp turmeric powder)
1 tsp fenugreek (halba)
1 candlenut (buah keras)
2 lemongrass, smashed
300ml coconut milk
50gm tamarind pulp (with seeds) + 1 cup water
*1 cup water or more
1 tsp salt
3-4 tsp sugar (may need more, I used 4)
Banana leaf for lining the tray(I used aluminium foil)
1. Soak tamarind pulp with water for 10 minutes. Rub the tamarind pulp to wash the seeds clean. Strain the tamarind water and discard the remnants. Save the tamarind water.
2. Place tamarind water, shallots, garlic, chilli, galangal, ginger, turmeric and candlenut into a blender and blend until fine. Pour this into a wok.
3. Put lemongrass, fenugreek, coconut milk, 1 cup water, salt and sugar into the wok. Bring to a boil.
4. Place chicken into the boiling gravy (breast side down) and bring to a boil. (gravy should be half way up the chicken, if not add more water) Lower to medium low heat, cover with lid and cook for 15 minutes. Flip the chicken to back side down and cook for another 15 minutes, this time, watching closely so that it doesn't burn. Bathe the top with gravy and try to scoop some of the boiling gravy into the cavity.(Since I cut my chicken into pieces, I only boil them for 15 minutes and then go to the next step)
5. Line baking tray with banana leaf (about A4size, can use broken pieces, it's ok). Remove chicken from the wok, let the gravy drip off and place onto the lined tray.
6. Bake at 180(fan)/200C for 30 minutes (I didn't preheat the oven) or until the chicken is beautifully golden.(I only bake for 20 minutes)
7. Meanwhile, reduce the gravy until it looks thick like satay sauce. Taste it, if it's too sour, add more sugar (I had about 1 cup)
8. Remove chicken from oven and generously brush on the reduced gravy (I brushed 2/3 of the gravy).
9. Return chicken to oven and bake at the same temperature for another 10 minutes.
I am submitting this to Malaysian Food Fest Pahang Month Hosted by Wendy of Table for 2.... or more
