Monday, November 21, 2011

Ayam Masak Kuah Bunga Kantan 酸辣薑花雞 Chicken In Spicy Torch Ginger Flower Sauce - "Malaysian Monday 61"



There is my interpretation  of a dish we often order at our local Malaysian restaurant. I used chicken instead of duck and the result was more than satisfactory. 

The waiting staff at the Malaysian restaurant was unable to tell me the origin of the dish but I am quite sure it is of Nyonya origin judging by the ingredients used. What do you think?

P.S Try your local florists for the exotic sounding, tasting and smelling fresh torch ginger flower buds,  otherwise they are available frozen from most good Asian grocers. I will be making the duck version soon, so please stay tuned!



recipe from the tummies' kitchen
serve 4 as part of a Malaysian meal
you'll need;
1.5 kg of chicken thighs, excess fat removed
1 tbs of turmeric powder
2 cloves of garlic, pounded
salt and pepper to taste
oil for frying
1/2 cup of mint leaves, shredded
1/2 cup of Vietnamese mint leaves, shredded

for the torch ginger flower sauce;
1 torch ginger flower bud (bunga kantan), chopped
1 lemon grass (white part only), chopped
10 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 red onion or 10 shallots, chopped
thumb size piece of galangal, chopped
thumb size piece of ginger, chopped
3 red chillies, chopped
25 dried chillies, boiled for 10 minutes and drained well
1 tbs of toasted shrimp paste (belacan)
1/2 cup of tamarind concentrate
1/2 cup of plum sauce
salt to taste
oil for cooking



Marinate chicken with salt, pepper and turmeric powder for an hour.



Blend the spices in batches until smooth.



Saute spice mix with some cooking oil, stirring constantly on medium heat until oil separates (~15 to 20 minutes) then add in plum sauce and the rest of the ingredients. Check for seasonings, it should be spicy, sweet, sour and extremely fragrant.



Shallow fry chicken pieces in batches until golden and crispy. Drain well and set aside.



Add chicken to the pot and coat well with the delicious sauce.



Top chicken with shredded mint and Vietnamese mint and serve as part of a Malaysian meal.



We had it with a simple mixed vegetables stir fry and plenty of steamed rice to mop up the delicious sauce.



My friend Sharon from Test With Skewer is hosting the November event. Please send all your entries to its.sharon@gmail.com. To find out more about the event and how to enter, please click HERE

10 comments:

  1. I think I know which dish you are referring to :) I don't think it is as good as before, the last time we dined there, roast duck was used instead which was a big disappointment to us all. I will give this a try while I wait for your duck version.

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  2. Harriet From CarltonNovember 21, 2011 at 5:16 PM

    I can imagine how wonderful the sauce would taste like with all the goodies that went into it. Looking forward to the duck version too.

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  3. Looks yummy and tasty...will try out soon and let u know:)

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  4. I thought I have seen bunga kantan at a florist before and thanks for the confirmation lol
    I am a big fan of bunga kantan and I think I still have a few in my freezer, will try this out over the weekend :)

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  5. That looks amazing and I will be trying it out very soon. By the way, what is your Local Malaysian Restaurant Suresh?

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  6. wow that looks so freaking good and i can imagine it tastes just as good as it looks! that combination of torch ginger and plum sauce and tamarind and spices and shrimp paste.. cannot go wrong!

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  7. This is killing me as I am having leftover fried rice for lunch :(
    Will look out for fresh bunga kantan at florist as suggested, thanks for another wonderful recipe!

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  8. this looks like one of the MOST delicious malaysian dishes i have ever seen!! i'm quite homesick now reading this post hahaha =)

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  9. Wow, this is fabulous! I grow bunga kentang in my garden and will definitely try this out.
    Thanks for posting another winner.

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  10. I would love to try out this wonderful looking dish, the ginger flower do sound very exotic!

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