Recipe Ingredient
- 2 chickens, cut into 12 pieces
- Milk from 6 coconuts
- 1/4 cup kerisik*
- 1-2 tamarind skins (asam keping), optional
- 10 kaffir lime leaves or 1 turmeric leaf
- Paste (blend together):
- 10 cili padi
- 10 dried chillies
- 10 shallots
- 10 cloves garlic
- A thumb-sized piece of ginger
- A thumb-sized piece of galangal
- 2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh turmeric
- 10 stalks lemongrass
Instructions
- Put the paste, coconut milk, 1½ to two teaspoons of salt, the kerisik and the chicken into a pot (the pot has to be of good quality and with a thick base to ensure an even distribution of heat so the food doesn't burn). Keep the fire low.
- (Chef Riz likes to add tamarind skins as he finds that they provide a balance of flavour. However, his mother does not add them.)
- Cook for two to 2½ hours, stirring from time to time.
- (Chef Riz uses old chicken for rendang. If using spring chicken, cook the meat for 40 minutes, take it out and let the paste cook till it's almost dry and then return the chicken to the pot.)
- As the gravy thickens, add salt to taste.
- Add the kaffir lime leaves or turmeric leaf (Chef Riz puts in both) and leave for three minutes before turning off the heat.
- * Chef Riz says homemade kerisik is best. To make it, take one grated coconut and stir-fry in a dry pan on low to medium heat till it turns golden brown. Don't let it burn. Blend or pound the kerisik until fine, as this will act as a thickening agent.
