Ayam Panggang Menado Recipe

Ayam Panggang Menado Recipe

(Spicy Indonesian Barbecued Chicken Recipe)

4 chicken quarters (leg or breast portions), about 2 lb (1 kg)

1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

¼ cup (60 ml) oil

1 stem lemon grass, bottom 5 inch (12 cm) only, slit and bruised

½ cup loosely packed lemon basil or Asian basil sprigs

2 pandan leaves (screw pine leaves), raked with a fork and tied in a knot

3 tablespoons sweet soy sauce, or 3 tablespoons thick black soy sauce with 2 teaspoons

  soft brown sugar

4 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, minced

1 cup (250 ml) water

Seasoning paste:

6-8 large red chilies, sliced

10-12 shallots, peeled and minced

2 tablespoons minced ginger

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

Method:

Rub chicken pieces with lime juice and salt and set aside.  Prepare the Seasoning paste by processing all the ingredients to a smooth paste in a spice grinder, adding a little of the oil if necessary to keep the mixture turning.  Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a wok, then add the paste and stir-fry until fragrant, about 4 minutes.  Add the lemon grass, basil, pandan leaves, soy sauce, and tomatoes.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes have reduced to a pulp, about 5 minutes.  Add the water and chicken, cover the wok and simmer, turning the chicken several times, until the sauce has dried up and the chicken is tender, about 25 minutes.  Take care that the sauce do not burn, because of the sugar content of the sweet soy sauce; if it threatens to dry up before the chicken is cooked, add a little more water to the wok.  When the chicken is tender, remove from wok, picking off any pieces of herb or tomato skin, and leave to cool.  Shortly before the chicken is required, brush each piece with remaining oil and cook over charcoal or under a hot grill until golden brown on both sides, taking care that it does not burn.  Chop with a cleaver into smaller pieces before serving.