Chicken Rendang - Ayam #1

Yummy! Raise your hands for those don’t like this. Not me.

Rendang is a Malay dish and can be done using beef or chicken. Beef rendang taste best with a sweet end. But not the chicken version. I did not add in any sugar, but the taste is pretty balanced. Although the ingredients are almost the same, the outcome is different.

The ingredients used are very basic ingredients in Malay cuisine, but the taste is fabulous. Coconutty and aromatic. Every bit of the fragrant paste(so thick, it can’t be called gravy) is smothered over rice and eaten, delicious! My 2 cents, cook it until it releases oil, if not it won’t taste good. Use a heavy based pot to minimize the risk of burning the dish.

It’s simple, just blend and simmer. This is my first time cooking chicken rendang, but I think I’ll cook this dish quite often as it’s my FIL’s fav and it’s so simple, plus I can cook extra for 2 meals. Overnight rendang taste fabulous! Although my hubby prefers the beef version, he definitely won’t complain if I cook this.

Chicken Rendang

Recipe adapted from: Hanieliza

1.5-1.7kg chicken (1 bird or 12 pieces chicken parts)
200ml thick coconut milk
2 cups water
130gm freshly grated coconut, to be toasted (original recipe called for kerisik, which is toasted and pounded oily coconut)
1 big piece of turmeric leaf (if small, use 2. Mine was about 1ft long), snipped finely with scissors
2 tsp salt

Grind to a paste
5 stalks lemon grass (4 inch from base)
120gm shallots (10 pcs)
5 cloves garlic
15 pcs dried chilli, seeds removed and soaked for 30 minutes
10-20 pcs bird’s eye chilli (depends on how hot you want it to be)
40gm ginger (3 inches)
20gm galangal (1 fat inch)
15gm turmeric (thumb sized)

*If you have problem grinding in the mill with these ingredients and would prefer using the blender, blend them together with the coconut milk and water. It works the same. But I do not want to stain my blender ‘yellow’ with turmeric. Staining one apparatus is enough for me.

1. Cut whole bird of chicken into 12 pieces.
2. Combine all ingredients except freshly grated coconut. Bring to a boil and lower to medium low heat and simmer for 30 minutes, lid on.
3. Meanwhile, toast coconut until dry, fragrant and golden.
4. After 30 minutes of simmering, put toasted coconut into the pot and bring heat to medium and reduce gravy. Lid should be off at this time.
5. Reduce gravy until almost no liquid is visible, but oil is at the base. The aromatics should still be moist.

The chicken rendang was served with nasi lemak Joonah style. Joonah is the shop where they serve our favourite beef rendang.

I had some 'paste' left unconsumed and I used it make pulut panggang.





I still couldn't finish the leftover paste and finished it off by frying long beans the next day.. a good way to use up all the delicious rendang 'paste'