Chicken Rendang

 

The Recipe of Chicken Rendang

Ingredients

For the chicken

• 4 chicken fillets, each about 150g/5oz, cut into bite-sized cubes


• 2 limes, juice only


• pinch salt


• pinch sugar


• vegetable oil, for frying


• knob of butter, to baste

For the sauce

• 1 onion, roughly chopped


• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped


• 2.5cm/1in piece fresh ginger


• 3 red chillies, seeds removed, chopped


• 5g/¼oz ground coriander


• 15g/½oz tamarind paste


• 1 tsp ground turmeric


• 10g/½oz curry powder


• 1 lemongrass stalk, roughly chopped


• pinch salt


• splash of vegetable oil, for frying


• 1 x 250ml/9fl oz carton coconut cream


• 50g/2oz desiccated coconut, toasted


• 1 x 400ml/14fl oz can coconut milk

To serve

• steamed jasmine rice


• lime wedges


• chopped fresh coriander

Preparation method

1. For the chicken, thread the chicken cubes onto skewers and place into a non-reactive shallow dish. Sprinkle over the lime juice, salt and sugar and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
   


2. Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the chicken skewers for about ten minutes, or until completely cooked through, turning regularly and basting with a little butter (that is, spooning the butter over to keep the chicken moist). Alternatively, cook the skewers under a hot grill.
   


3. For the sauce, place the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies, ground coriander, tamarind paste, ground turmeric, curry powder, lemongrass and a pinch of salt into a food processor and blend until a smooth paste is formed. Add a splash of oil if the paste is too dry.
   


4. Heat the oil in a wok and fry the paste until it becomes fragrant, being careful not to burn it.
   


5. Add the coconut cream a little at a time. Add the toasted desiccated coconut and the coconut milk and bring slowly to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until reduced in volume by half.
   


6. To serve, arrange a little of steamed jasmine rice on each serving plate, place the skewers on top and spoon over the sauce.