Ajam Besengek

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy braadpan or Dutch oven, 4-liter or larger
• •Mortar and pestle or small food processor
• •Wooden spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the chicken

   Season the chicken pieces with the teaspoon of salt and leave them on the counter while you make the paste. Twenty minutes is enough. The salt wakes the meat before it meets the coconut, and bone-in pieces will give the sauce more body than neat little cubes ever could.

2. 2

   Make the bumbu

   Grind the shallots, garlic, candlenuts, turmeric, galangal, ginger, coriander, cumin, and sugar into a rough paste, called bumbu, the spice paste that carries the dish. Use a mortar if the evening is kind to you, or a small food processor with a spoonful of water if it isn't. Candlenuts must be cooked, so don't taste the raw paste and don't leave it pale in the pan later.

   Candlenuts, kemiri, thicken the sauce and give it a soft nutty depth. If you can't find them, macadamias are the honest substitute; they bring fat and body without pretending to be something else.
3. 3

   Fry the paste

   Heat the oil in a heavy braadpan, a Dutch braising pot, over medium heat. Add the bumbu and fry it for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring often, until it darkens from raw yellow to deep gold and the sharp smell of raw shallot turns sweet. This step is the spine of the dish. Hurry it and the sauce tastes unfinished.

4. 4

   Brown the chicken

   Push the paste to the side of the pan and add the chicken pieces, turning them so they pick up the golden paste and lightly colour on the outside. You are not building a roast crust here. You are waking the chicken and letting the spice fat coat every piece before the coconut milk arrives.

5. 5

   Braise gently

   Add the bruised lemongrass, daun salam, kaffir lime leaves, coconut milk, and stock or water. Stir carefully, bring just to a low simmer, then lower the heat so the surface trembles rather than boils. Cook uncovered for 40 to 45 minutes, turning the chicken once or twice, until the meat is tender and the sauce has reduced enough to cling thickly to a spoon.

6. 6

   Balance the sauce

   Stir in the tamarind water, or lime juice if that is what you have, then taste for salt. The sauce should be rich, yellow, lightly tart, and thick from coconut and candlenut, not flour. Remove the lemongrass and whole leaves before serving, unless your table enjoys fishing for evidence.

7. 7

   Serve with rice

   Serve the chicken with plenty of plain white rice and sambal at the table. For a rijsttafel, keep the portions modest and let this sit among vegetables, pickles, eggs, and something crisp. For dinner at home, a bowl of rice and a spoonful of sauce are already enough.

Chef Tips

• •Use full-fat coconut milk. Thin coconut milk makes a watery sauce, and Ajam Besengek depends on a thick golden coating that holds to the chicken.
• •Fry the bumbu until it smells sweet and cooked. Raw candlenut and raw shallot are both unkind in the mouth; the paste needs those few minutes in oil before liquid enters.
• •Bone-in dark meat is best here. Breast meat cooks too quickly and dries while the sauce is still finding itself.
• •Make it a day ahead for a dinner party. The turmeric settles, the coconut rounds out, and the chicken tastes as if it has been listening overnight.
• •Serve with something sharp beside it, atjar tjampoer, pickled cucumber, or a small spoon of sambal. Rich coconut wants a little bite at the table.

Advance Preparation

• •The bumbu can be ground up to two days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator; fry it only when you cook the dish.
• •The finished chicken keeps three days refrigerated and reheats gently over low heat. Add a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too firmly.
• •For a dinner party, cook the dish the day before, chill it, then reheat slowly and adjust salt and tamarind just before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)