Opor Ayam, braised chicken in coconut milk, is one of the dishes I have presented in the May 2022 cooking workshop. We had fun making this special recipe from central Java, one of the main islands in Indonesia. A perfect dish to serve with a rijsttafel although it takes 45 minutes to cook, it is the most delicious chicken dish I’ve made. The meat should taste tender and the mixture of Indonesian spices combined with coconut milk will give the dish a rich, delicately mild exotic flavor.
Opor Ayam is prepared like a stew, therefor I use the method of covering the chicken with liquid and let it simmer until tender. In this workshop we used medium size drumstick chicken, if you prefer them smaller, that is fine too. As you see in the photo, the sauce is covering the chicken. To serve it, add at least a few spoons of the sauce over the chicken and the rice. Now you can enjoy all of the flavor.
Don’t be alarmed when you read the ingredient list. Below are introductions of a few of the spices. You can buy all of these ingredients in Asian grocery stores.
- Sereh or lemongrass is frequently used for chicken dishes and a must in the Indonesian kitchen.
- Kemiri nuts or candlenuts are mostly used in South East Asia and help soften the chicken.
- Trassi or shrimp paste is used in almost all Indonesian dishes. The paste is fermented and gives the dish that special exotic aroma. However if you are allergic to shrimps, you can skip adding this ingredient. I have found that it will taste as good as the original.
- Ketoembar or coriander are the dried seeds of the coriander plant. The leaves of this plant are called cilantro in North America. This spice you can buy in any grocery store.
It was not hard for the students to make this dish and at the end of the workshop while tasting each other’s dish we all agreed it Opor Ayam will be one of our favorites.
Opor Ayam
Ingredients
Bumbu
- 2 onions roughly chopped
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 4 candlenuts (kemiri) roasted
- 1 tsp shrimp paste (trassi)
- 1½ tsp coriander (ketoembar)
- ½ tsp cumin (djintin)
- ½ tsp tumeric (kurkuma)
Chicken and Spices
- 6 medium size chicken drumsticks
- 4 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 stalk fresh lemon grass (sereh) cut in 3 pieces
- 4 lime leaves (kaffir)
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ inch ginger (djahe)
- 1 can coconut milk
Instructions
- Make the bumbu with the onions, garlic, candlenuts, shrimp paste, coriander, cumin and tumeric in a blender.
- Rub the boemboe over the chicken and let is sit for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- In a large skillet or a wok, sauté the chicken in the 4 tbsp coconut oil.
- Add the ginger, lemongrass, bay leaves, lime leaves and 2 cups of water.
- Cook the chicken dish for about 15 minutes on a medium high stove.
- Add the coconut milk and salt to taste. Now let the chicken simmer over low heat. cook until the chicken drums are tender and the sauce has thickened.