Ajam Roedjak

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy braising pan or braadpan with lid, 28cm
• •Blender, mortar and pestle, or small food processor
• •Tongs

Instructions

1. 1

   Salt the chicken

   Pat the chicken dry and season it with the salt. Let it stand while you make the bumbu, the spice paste. This short rest is not ceremony; salt needs a little time to reach the surface properly, and dry chicken browns instead of sulking in its own moisture.

2. 2

   Make the bumbu

   Blend or pound the shallots, garlic, chilies, toasted trassi, candlenuts, ginger, and a tablespoon or two of water into a rough paste. Don't make it too smooth. A little texture is welcome, and the sauce will finish the work in the pan.

   Toast trassi wrapped in foil in a dry pan for a minute or two, just until its smell deepens. Raw trassi tastes blunt; toasted trassi becomes the quiet foundation of the sauce.
3. 3

   Brown the chicken

   Heat the oil in a wide heavy pan or braadpan, a Dutch braising pot, over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in batches, about three minutes per side, then lift it to a plate. You are not cooking it through here. You are giving the sauce something browned and honest to hold onto.

4. 4

   Fry the paste

   Lower the heat to medium and add the bumbu to the same pan. Fry it for six to eight minutes, stirring often, until the oil begins to separate slightly and the paste smells rounded rather than raw. Add the galangal, lemongrass, salam leaves, and kaffir lime leaves, and stir for another minute.

5. 5

   Build the sauce

   Stir in the coconut milk, water or stock, tamarind paste, palm sugar, and kecap manis. Bring it to a gentle simmer and scrape the bottom of the pan so the browned bits dissolve into the sauce. Taste carefully: it should be sweet, sour, salty, and hot, with no one voice shouting over the others.

6. 6

   Braise gently

   Return the chicken and any juices to the pan. Simmer uncovered for thirty-five to forty minutes, turning the pieces now and then, until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened enough to coat a spoon in a glossy brick-orange layer. Keep the heat gentle. Coconut milk forgives many things, but a hard boil is not one of them.

7. 7

   Finish the balance

   Stir in the lime juice, then taste again. Add a little more tamarind for sourness, palm sugar for roundness, salt for clarity, or lime for brightness. Remove the lemongrass, galangal, and leaves if you like, or leave them in as every auntie seems to do. Serve with white rice and cucumber slices.

Chef Tips

• •Use bone-in chicken if you can. Boneless pieces cook faster, yes, but the bones give the coconut sauce body and make the dish taste less hurried.
• •Trassi matters. If you cannot find it, use a small spoon of Thai shrimp paste, but toast it first and add it modestly. Too much and the sauce becomes a lecture.
• •Candlenuts are traditional but must be cooked, never eaten raw. Macadamias are the clean substitute: rich, pale, and obedient in the paste.
• •Serve it with plain rice, not fragrant rice fighting for attention. The sauce is the event; the rice is there to carry it.
• •For a dinner table, make the chicken a day ahead and reheat it gently. The chili softens, the coconut settles, and the sour-sweet roedjak balance becomes clearer.

Advance Preparation

• •The bumbu can be made up to two days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator, or frozen for one month.
• •The finished chicken keeps three days refrigerated and reheats best over low heat with a splash of water to loosen the coconut sauce.
• •For a dinner party, cook it the day before, chill it, then reheat gently and finish with fresh lime juice just before serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 540g)