Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Ayam Panggang Bumbu Merah/Grilled Spicy Chicken

When I lived in Penang, I met a kind Indonesian lady who made this dish for a ladies gathering. When we chatted, she had graciously shared with me the ingredients and I jolted it down on a piece of napkin. Well, I finally found that napkin while unpacking a box, and am so excited to try and share another new recipe! I am not very good with chopping up chicken pieces chinese style like the chicken rice stalls in south-east asia, so I cut the chicken up in quarters and serve it with more sambal on the side.

3-4 lbs organic chicken fryer
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbs lime juice
6 Tbs chilli paste (see recipe below)
1 tsp minced garlic (optional)
2-3 lemon grass, crushed
1 kaffir lime leave, thinly sliced
1/2 salt
1 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbs tamarind juice


Using kitchen shears, cut off the backbone of the chicken. You may want to save that for making chicken broth later, or discard. Marinade chicken with the next 8 ingredients for 2 hours. Heat the grill to 500F. Place chicken on grill for 10 mins or until done.

Chili Paste (Sambal)

1/2 c dried red hot chilies
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 c chopped red onions or shallots
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c fresh lime juice
grated zest from 1 lime
1/4 c water
1/2 tsp salt

Put everything into a food processor and blend. Pour contents into a non-stick wok with 1 Tbs vegetable oil, and cook for 10 mins or until it's reduced to 1/2 cup.


Note: As it was raining, I decided to turn up the oven to 500F and cooked it for 15 mins. I prefer more color on my chicken, so I cooked it for another 5 mins. Since we live in a world of salmonella and ecoli, I used a meat thermometer and stuck it to the inner most part of the thickest part (thighs) to confirm that chicken is cooked (180 for whole chicken). And don't let cooked chicken sit out for more than 2 hours. Here are the USDA guidelines for preparing chicken. Do I sound like a mom now???

7 comments:

WokandSpoon said...

Nice!! That looks soo good! I'm going to have to start eating chicken again...I'm working on it...slowly!

Little Corner of Mine said...

Your ayam panggang looks delish! Like your way of serving it on a banana leaf.

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Thank you Wokandspoon! But why no chicken, eh? I'm curious...

Hey C! Xie Xie! ;)

Anonymous said...

Hi-hi! Did you put kecep manis too? - san.y

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Hi san.y,
I made a non-spicy version for the kids using lemon grass, kecep manis, tomatoe sauce, onions and garlic. :)

Anonymous said...

wil try this receipe for ayam panggan later.
bel

East Meets West Kitchen said...

Welcome back Bel!