Satay Ayam Bakar 娘惹沙爹烤雞 Nyonya Grilled Satay Chicken

With no Nyonya (or Peranakan)  bloodlines and recipes passed down to me I rely solely on a few trusted cookbooks when it comes to cooking good Nyonya food. I am rather satisfied with my very first attempt, so get the motar and pastel out and spice up those chilly nights ahead. I also made some sambal kecap  to go with the dish, it actually helps cutting down the richness of the sauce a little so give it a try.

P.S I will try to do a post on skewered satay very soon. This is a recipe from "The New Mr.s Lee's Cookbook" by Mr.s Lee Chin Koon, the late mother of Lee Kuan Yew (former Prime Minister of Singapore)  

recipe adapted from "The New Mr.s Lee's Cookbook"

serves 4 as part of a Nyonya or Malaysian meal;

you'll need;

1 whole chicken or 1.2 kg of chicken maryland, cut into large pieces

400 ml of coconut milk

3 kaffir lime leaves (optional)

salt to taste

sugar to taste

for the spice mix;

1 stalk of lemongrass (white part only) chopped

2 long red chillies, chopped

3 bird chillies, chopped

1 slice of fresh turmeric

8 shallots, chopped

3 candlenuts, chopped

1/2 tsp of shrimp paste, toasted

1 tsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp of pepper

Coarsely pound the spice mix ingredients in a mortar and pastel or blend it in a food processor.

Heat up the coconut milk and add in the spice mix and kaffir lime leaves.

Add chicken to the pot, mix well and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes or til chicken is tender. Stirring from time to time, the sauce should be fairly thick at the end of the cooking. Remove chicken pieces.

Bake chicken pieces on the top shelf of the preheated oven til the skin is golden and crispy. Alternatively this can be done on the bbq or over charcoal flame. The chicken is tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, perfect as it is!

Meanwhile continue to cook the sauce on low heat til the oil splits. Check for seasonings.

Drizzle the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately as part of a Nyonya or Malaysian meal. Try serving this with sambal kecap  to cut down the richness of the dish.