Sunday 22 October 2017

Ayam Goreng Berempah


Excuse me, Korean Fried Chicken. Could you please step aside for our Malaysian spicy and aromatic fried chicken? Introducing Ayam Goreng Berempah, a dish which actually needs no introduction.

Most of us have had this at the nasi campur stall or at the nasi kukus joint. Or some of you may have eaten this at home. The best ayam goreng berempah I have had is at Laksamaana. Though laksa is their specialty, they do a really mean ayam goreng berempah.


I decided to try my hand at making this awesome fried chicken so I referred to the recipe from Kak Liza's book Senangnya Memasak AyamIt didn't look too complicated as the spice paste is made of garlic, ginger, lemongrass, pepper, chili and curry powder.

I marinated the chicken one day ahead so that the flavors can develop and penetrate the chicken flesh, making the fried chicken even tastier.


I used about 500g of chicken pieces which is just nice for two servings. Before frying the chicken, you fry some curry leaves first to make the oil aromatic.

I decided to take it a step further by adding a stalk of bruised lemongrass (as I have seen Chef Wan do) and a few kaffir lime leaves (just because I had these in my garden).

Roping in Mum's sarong (or was it Grandma's) as part of the props.

I used my cast iron pan and filled it halfway up with oil and that way, I use less oil. All I had to do is turn my chicken pieces when one side was done. Of course, using more oil in a deep pan would have been much easier and gotten better results, but I wanted to save on the oil.


I was very pleased by what I fished out of the pan. The color was right and the chicken was well marinated and moist. It tasted very good. Quite an achievement on a hot and scorching Sunday afternoon. But the downside was cleaning up the oily mess.

Here's my adapted recipe in case you want to fry yourself a small batch of ayam goreng berempah. For best results, marinate the chicken overnight on the fridge and take it out to come to room temperature before frying.


Ayam Goreng Berempah
Recipe source : Adapted from Senangnya Memasak Ayam

Ingredients : 
- 500g chicken pieces (I buy what they call "chicken cubes" from the supermarket because I am hopeless at chopping chicken)
- 2 stalks lemongrass (use only the white part)
- 2 shallots
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 inch ginger
- 1 tablespoon meat curry powder
- 1 tsp salt
-1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (or regular chili powder)

To flavor the frying oil :
- 2 stalks curry leaves
- 1 stalk lemongrass (bruised, optional)
- 5 kafir lime leaves (optional)

Method :
1. Blend lemongrass, shallots, garlic and ginger into a paste.
2. Add salt, pepper and cayenne pepper into the paste and mix to combine.
3. Put chicken pieces into a freezer bag and pour in the spice paste. Squish the bag to evenly coat the spice paste all over the chicken.
4. Leave in the fridge to marinate overnight.
5. Before frying, take the chicken out from the fridge to come to room temperature (I left mine out for 2 hours. Don't be paranoid about bacteria and all. The hot oil will kill them later)
6. Heat oil in pan (you can deep fry or shallow fry) and when oil is hot, add in the curry leaves. When it crisps up, remove and set aside.
7. Next add kaffir lime leaves (if using), remove when it crisps up.
8. Add lemongrass (if using) and the marinated chicken. Fry in two batches (if your pan is not big enough) and you may leave the lemongrass in there. Fry the chicken until browned and cooked through.
9. Remove from pan and drain on paper towels.
10. Serve hot and garnish with the fried curry and kaffir lime leaves.

30 comments:

  1. I would always buy this if I see any at the Malay stalls and shops. All the rest can step aside, no fight at all!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Fantastic photos! The ayam goreng berempah looks amazing....

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Yen! It tasted pretty good, I must say :)

      Delete
  3. Phong Hong homecooked food is the best...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I do agreed our fried chicken tasted better than others. ^^

    I just fry some fried chicken wings for dinner. So yummy. Homecooked is the best, right? ^^

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love fried chicken wings. I bet your chicken wings were awesome!

      Delete
  5. Makan macam tu saja pun sedap, no rice. I bet myanaks pun suka ni.
    Sebenarnya I tak pernah masak ayam goreng berempah sbb i malas nak marinated ayam tu, satu malam tu, haha.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Leceh kan... Tapi berbaloi kalau time rajin2 boleh masak.

      Delete
  6. I just love to eat the rempah taste of ayam goreng berempah. To me, chicken tastes best this way. Your method of cooking by using less oil is good as it saves on discarding the used oil - use less oil means discarding less used oil.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The results of not deep frying was satisfactory so I saved up on oil. It's such a waste to throw away :(

      Delete
  7. Very delicious and special!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Ayam Goreng Berempah ni mmg sangat versatile kan PH, boleh makan dengan ns putih, nasi lemak, nasi kerabu dan macam2 lagi...Ratah pun sedap.
    Kalau buat ni, kompom anak2 tak tolak punya..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Betul tu, Lina. Tak susah nak buat cume leceh lah nak sediakan rempah bagai.

      Delete
  9. I'm going to try out your tip of first frying some curries leaves to add fragrance to the pan. Thanks for the tip.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome :) It does make the oil so fragrant!

      Delete
  10. I love ayam goreng berempah and I miss this fried chicken so much. Thanks for the recipe. I will try this when my sore throat gets well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are welcome :) Hope you recover soon and can enjoy this tasty fried chicken.

      Delete
  11. First, let me say I love ayam goreng berempah! ^_~ Even though you pan-fried your chicken, the result is still outstanding...perfectly golden brown. When you say you use less oil, I take it to mean you discard all the oil after frying? I use either corn or sunflower oil (aka slightly more expensive oil), so I very sayang when have to discard...that's why I try not to deep-fry stuff at home...only shallow frying..hehe! ;)

    The ayam goreng berempah stall near my house, I've seen them drop sliced onions into the oil and then they scoop the caramelised onions (+ lots of lemongrass shreds) up for us to add to our rice...yum, yum! :)
    P/S: I love that 'chicken' plate...kekeke! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup, I discard the oil after frying. So sayang but I can't reuse it since it becomes dark and will have the spice taste. Unless if the chicken is plain fried in batter, it is possible to filter it and reuse. For this type of frying, I use minyak cap buruh wahahaha!! Cheaper mah...

      Oh, I see! That you make the oil fragrant too and in the end you also get caramelized onions. What a great idea and I shall do that next time :)

      Delete
  12. Yours certainly look most delicious compared to other ayam goreng berempah I've seen.

    *drool*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, thank you so much! Kembang hidung hee..hee...

      Delete
  13. Senangnya Memasak Ayam - that sounds reassuring to a terrible cook like me! your recipe looks delicious, but it's too advanced for me! :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hah..hah... Never mind, just go to your favorite nasi campur stall for your ayam goreng berempah fix!

      Delete
  14. I totally believe that these ayam goreng berempah beats the Korean fried chicken! They must be so aromatic, with curry leaves, lemon grass, etc.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, to our local palate, this is the best!

      Delete
  15. Lebih lama kita perap mmg lebih sedapkan LL...
    Nampaknya kena plan sehari awallah kalau teringin nak makan ayam goreng kan...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ya, Hainom. Lagi lama perap lagi sedap. Yang spoilnya, kekadang LL dah prepare hari sebelum tapi pada hari yang nak masak tu, tiba2 takde mood hah..hah..

      Delete