Archive for Chicken & Poultry
Soto Kudus
Soto Kudus ~ Indonesian Chicken Soup, Javanese Style. “Kudus” is a city in Central Java, Indonesia. There’re so many varieties of “soto” or soup from different parts of provinces in Indonesia. This particular one is quite easy to distinguish from its dominant garlicky flavours from generous sprinkles of deep fried garlic, delicious clear chicken soup with a hint of ginger, toasted coriander seeds and squeeze of lemon juice…..
One of our weekend eat-out with my family when I was a little, was this great little place near Mayestik Market where they served the best Soto Kudus. It’s so good that my family decided to make it a must-stop restaurant every Sunday afternoon. The main thing about the whole dining experience is it’s usually served with a plateful of various kind of skewered yummies as side dish – paru goreng, sate usus goreng, sate telur puyuh, perkedel kentang and my favorite one sumsum goreng telur. Important condiment is also a must for me, chili soy sauce mixed with fried garlic. It adds an entirely different flavours to the soto.
I find this recipe tastes very close to the original Soto Kudus I used to have, and am still crazy about.
SOTO KUDUS
Indonesian Chicken Soup – Kudus Style
Ingredients:
* 6 pcs chicken thighs
* 4 pcs boiled eggs
* 200 gr bean sprouts, soak in hot water 5 mnts
* celery stalk/spring onion, chopped
* 2 stalks of lemon grass, bruised
* 2 pcs bay leaves
* 3 tbs of garlic fried to golden yellow color
* salt, pepper, sugar to taste
Processed ingredients till smooth:
* 6 pcs garlic
* 6 pcs shallots
* 1 tbs roast coriander seeds
* 1/2 tbs cumin
* 6 pcs roast candlenuts
* 4 cm fresh ginger, slightly roasted
Cooking Directions:
1.) Boil chicken in 1 ltr of water, lemongrass & bay leaves till tender
2.) Heat 1 tbs of oil, stir fry processsed ingredients till cooked
3.) Pour into the chicken pot, add salt, pepper, sugar & fried garlic
4.) Set aside and cut chicken into bite size strips
5.) Prepare individual bowls with: steam rice, boiled eggs, bean sprouts
chicken strips, pour in steaming soup, sprinkle with spring onions
6.) Don’t forget those tasty chili condiment…. whoa yummy!
Chili for Soto:
* 10 pcs bird’s eye chili or red chili – slice thinly
* 2 tbs sweet soy sauce
* slices of indonesian palm sugar (gula jawa)
* 2 tbs fried garlic – smoothen
* sprinkles of lemon juice
(mix them all together)
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Crispy Fried Wonton
Deep fried wontons with sweet chili sauce dipping
I never had the need to learn to make fried wonton when I lived in Jakarta. There’s this one place that sells amazingly crispy and yummie fried wonton – although it’s the chicken noodle that’s to-die-for. You know where it is 
Since I live in the mainland, I rarely find any fried wonton, you know, the crispy ones. If there’s one, it would be soaking wet in oil with the flavours I barely recognize.
I come to one conclusion, the best chinese food is not in the mainland China. It’s in South East Asia. Singapore-Indonesia or Malaysia. Anyway, this is my first trial to make fried wonton. So simple and makes a great afternoon or evening snacks.
* as featured in Tastespotting and Foodgawker
There’re several different versions of the recipe, but I like this one better. I know how it should taste like, at least.
DEEP FRIED WONTONS
Ingredients:
* 1 packet of wonton wrappers (square ones) from market
* 1/2 pound minced chicken
* 5 pcs of large prawns – minced
* 4 stalks of spring onions – finely chopped
* 2 tbsp of light soy sauce (I use soy sauce for seafood)
* 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
* 1/2 tsp. sesame oil
* 1/2 tsp. sugar
* 1 egg – whisked
* 1 tsp. corn or potato starch
* salt and pepper to taste
** Mix them all together
Cooking Directions:
1.) Prepare the filling, place about 1 tsp filling in the center of the skin
Brush egg white to the edges and around the filling
Seal it tight in a triangle shape, seal the two edge together
and make a tight pocket
2.) Repeat until filling is finished
3.) Heat up oil in a deep heavy skillet over medium heat
4.) Fry wonton for a few minutes on each side or until golden brown.
5.) Remove and drain oil on paper towels
Serve with sweet chili dipping
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Indonesian Barbecued Chicken
Ayam Bakar Bumbu Rujak
whoops, the jeruk limo is still half frozen there in pic 
Indonesian Grilled Chicken ~ Ayam Bakar Bumbu Rujak Kombinasi. (Grilled chicken = ayam bakar)
There’re actually many varieties of grilled chicken in Indonesia, which I’m not even sure if I know all of them. There’s Balinese Grilled Chicken, Ayam Bakar Padang, Ayam Bakar Rica, Ayam Bakar Taliwang, Ayam Bakar Kalasan, Ayam Bakar Kecap… I think there’s a whole lot more.
However, this particular recipe is based on ”Ayam Bakar Bumbu Rujak” with a slight modification. With a drizzle of sweet soy sauce (our soy sauce is much thicker & sweeter than any others) and a twist of “jeruk limo” or lime, makes all the difference. It’s a recipe from grandma. My mother cooks this so often since we were little, still a favorite menu today everytime my sis & I come home to Indonesia.
INDONESIAN BARBECUED CHICKEN
(Ayam Bakar Bumbu Rujak ala Ibuku)
Ingredients:
* 8 pcs of chicken thighs
(I like using thighs as they’re more succulent for bbq)
* 6 pcs of shallots
* 6 pcs of garlic cloves
* 7 pcs of candlenuts
* 4 pcs red chili peppers
* 1 cm fresh turmeric
* 2 cm fresh galangal or blue ginger
* 2 tbs paprika powder (to give a reddish color)
~ processed all into a smooth paste
* 2 pcs of bay leaves
* 4 pcs of kaffir lime leaves
* pinch of shrimp paste (optional)
* 1 cup of thick coconut milk
* 3 stalks of fresh Lemongrass – bruised
* Tamarind 2-3 pcs (asam jawa bisa pakai 2-3 mata)
* 2 pcs of indonesian lime or jeruk limo
* 2-3 tbs of Indonesian soy sauce
Directions:
1.) Heat the pan & sauteed all ground spices, add chicken pieces
Cook until they change color slightly.
Add salt, pepper, sugar, shrimp paste
2.) Add 2 cups water, lemongrass, bayleaves, tamarind, coconut milk
Cover and cook until the water becomes thick.
Check chicken tenderness, add more water if necessary
3.) Add sweet soy sauce. Just a few spoons or else it’s going to
taste like satay. Add kaffir lime leaves
4.) Let it cook for a while until the chicken becomes tender
5.) Set aside chicken – while keep cooking the sauce till thickens.
Squeeze a few drops of lime
6.) Grill the chicken over medium heat. Not too long so it stays
juicy & succulent just to get a nice ‘burnt’ edges
7.) Serve with drizzle the sauce on top,
sprinkle of bawang goreng or fried shallots.
Tambahan dari Mia adikku, katanya makannya pake sambel bajak… ssshhhh-haaaahhhh!
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