I was up tonight, upset about some things, happy about others, and not that interested in eating itself, but always interested in food. Ayam rica rica (chicken spicy spicy), an Indonesia dish from Manado, in the northernmost part of Sulawesi. The spiciest food I've ever tasted, full of chilis and fresh vegetables - vibrant and distinctive, My friend Syane, a teacher at my school last year, taught me some Manado cooking, including this Ayam Rica Rica.
Unfortnately, my notebook of recipes was picked up in the Singapore airport by a well meaning friend of mine named Jesus. Jesus took the gospel of Manado cooking to Minnesota, and I don't know where it is now but what I know of Minnesotans makes me believe that the spicyness would be a little much for that crowd.
So I depended on memory, and consulted a few online recipes.
Tasty-Indonesian-Food.com has the best one I found, concise, in English, and clear enough to follow. Only rather than grilling the chicken, you can also cook it in a pan with a little bit of oil, just drain the lemon juice off before you put in the pan.
recipe source: http://www.tasty-indonesian-food.com/ayam-rica.html
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken or 1 kg chicken, cut into 4 or 6 small pieces
- 1-2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 small fresh tomatoes, cut into small pieces
- 2 fresh kaffir lime leafs *orange leaf would be ok*
- 1 stalk of lemongrass (sereh/serai), take the white part only
- Salt to taste
Spice Paste
- 10 red chillies
- 5 bird's eyes chillies
- 5 shallots or 1 small red onion
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 3 teaspoon grated ginger
Directions
1. Marinate the chicken with salt and lime juice and leave them for 15 minutes.
2. Grill the chicken on a barbeque grill or in an oven over moderate heat until half done. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetables oil in a wok over medium heat and sauté the spice paste until fragrant then add the tomatoes, kaffir lime leafs, lemongrass and the grilled chicken. Give 250 ml water and cook with low heat until chicken is ready to serve.
Spice paste sudah aromatic with everything but the chicken....
I recommend serving with white rice. This kind of spicy dish isn't meant to be eaten plain, but when you combine with rice, they balance each other well. It's not like Indian food where the flavors marinate together and the effect is a warmer spice that slowly takes over your mouth. Indian food can also be creamier. Indonesian food is more -pow - fresh hot flavors, right up front.
recipe source: http://www.tasty-indonesian-food.com/ayam-rica.html
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken or 1 kg chicken, cut into 4 or 6 small pieces
- 1-2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 small fresh tomatoes, cut into small pieces
- 2 fresh kaffir lime leafs *orange leaf would be ok*
- 1 stalk of lemongrass (sereh/serai), take the white part only
- Salt to taste
Spice Paste
- 10 red chillies
- 5 bird's eyes chillies
- 5 shallots or 1 small red onion
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 3 teaspoon grated ginger
Directions
1. Marinate the chicken with salt and lime juice and leave them for 15 minutes.
2. Grill the chicken on a barbeque grill or in an oven over moderate heat until half done. Set aside.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetables oil in a wok over medium heat and sauté the spice paste until fragrant then add the tomatoes, kaffir lime leafs, lemongrass and the grilled chicken. Give 250 ml water and cook with low heat until chicken is ready to serve.
Spice paste sudah aromatic with everything but the chicken....
I recommend serving with white rice. This kind of spicy dish isn't meant to be eaten plain, but when you combine with rice, they balance each other well. It's not like Indian food where the flavors marinate together and the effect is a warmer spice that slowly takes over your mouth. Indian food can also be creamier. Indonesian food is more -pow - fresh hot flavors, right up front.
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