Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 35-45 minutes
Serves: 5-6 people
Ingredients
• 1 whole chicken
• ½ cup dried chillies (Note: Some chillies come dried and are already cleaned of seeds and stems. If the dry chillies you buy are not de-seeded and de-stemmed, you need to do so.)
• 1 tbsp chilli sauce (see below)
• 8-9 medium-sized shallots
• 4 medium-sized cloves of garlic
• 2, 2” pieces of galangal
• 2 lemon grass bulbs
• 1/3 cup of coconut milk
• 1/3 cup of coconut flakes
• ¼ cup of water
• 2 teaspoons of keffir lime leaves
• 2 teaspoons of cekup leaves
• ½” tumeric
• Rice for 5-6 people
Utensils
• One large bowl (large enough to put whole chicken pieces inside)
• 1 large cooking wok
• 1 large spatula (really labelled properly in the chef world as a “pancake turner.”)
• 1 large cutting board
• 1 Cutting knife
• Medium sized bowl to place chillies
• Blender
• Mortar and pestle
• Teapot or pan to boil water
Recipe
Preparation work:
Prepare chilli sauce the day before or buy from the store and have at hand.
Start cooking the rice to serve with rendang chicken 40 minutes before dish is done.
___________________
Process:
Begin by placing the dried chillies in a medium-sized bowl. Boil water in a teapot or pan. Pour water over the chillies and allow to sit until the chillies* soften (12-15 minutes).
Meanwhile, take the whole chicken and wash with warm water. Cut the chicken into pieces. Leave the skin of the chicken on. Set chicken aside in a bowl.
Heat the wok over medium heat. Take coconut flakes and place into the wok. Vigorously move the coconut flakes around the wok with the spatula. Continue to move the coconut in the wok for several minutes until the coconut flakes become a rich, toasted brown colour.
Quickly remove the coconut flakes and place into the mortar.
The next step is crucial. Pound the coconut with the mortar and pestle while it is still hot to release the natural oils of the coconut. Vigorously pound the coconut flakes until it resembles an oily paste. The coconut flakes will resemble a paste in about 20 fine minutes of grinding. Set coconut paste aside.
Clean wok with water, wipe dry, and place back onto the stove.
Peel shallots. Clean the tumeric by washing with warm water. Cut away or peel the skin of the tumeric.
Next, attend to the soaked chillies. Drain water from the bowl and place chillies into a blender with the shallots, tumeric, and chilli sauce. Blend until the mixture becomes a thick paste. Add a bit of water if to thick.
Clean the two lemon grass stalks. Trim away dry stalk and keep the bulb parts. Clean the galangal by washing with warm water to remove any access sand. Cut away or peel the skin of the galangal. Smash the lemon grass bulbs, tumeric, and galangal with the knife to release the natural flavours; set aside in a bowl.
Peel and slice garlic into ¼” pieces. Place in the same bowl as the lemon grass bulbs, tumeric, and galangal.
Place the lemon grass, galangal, garlic, and chilli paste into the wok. Cook for about 2 minutes. Drain any remaining water from the bowl of chicken pieces into the sink. Place chicken pieces in the wok.
Coat the chicken with the fragrant chilli mixture paste. Place ¼ cup of water into the wok.
While the chicken is cooking, prepare the keffir lime leaves by removing middle stems of the leaves. Thinly slice the keffir lime leaves and the cekup leaves.
Place leaves in the wok.
Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes. The water remaining in the wok reduces considerably. The remaining liquid will become a thick-like oil paste.
Place coconut milk into the wok. Let coconut milk cook for about 1 minute.
Turn off the heat. Add coconut paste oil from the mortar.
Serve with rice.
Mekan. Eat.
*Chilli Sauce (sambal) Recipe.
½ cup of chillies
2-3 tablespoons of water
¼ cup of onion
Mix all ingredients in a blender until the mixture resembles a thick paste. Add or drain water as needed.
The Malaysian Expatriate 
Leave a comment