Gulai Ayam Hijau – Green Chicken Curry

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 kg chicken
• 2 lemons
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 liter of water
• 5 kaffir lime leaves, frozen in Asian shops or dried via Amazon
• 20 g lemongrass, fresh or frozen
• 2 cup(s) rice, optional
• 2 Salam leaves, frozen in Asian shops or dried via Amazon
• 2 tsp black peppercorns
• 8 macadamia nuts
• 10 chili peppers, green, fresh or frozen
• 4 small onions, red
• 4 medium-sized garlic cloves, fresh
• 30 g galangal, fresh or frozen
• 15 g ginger, fresh or frozen
• 15 g turmeric root, fresh or frozen
• 80 g orange juice
• 2 tbsp honey, dark
• 6 g instant chicken broth
• 4 tbsp peanut oil
• n. B. Sugar and salt to taste
• 4 tomatoes, fully ripe
• 2 tbsp celery leaves
• n. B. flowers and leaves

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

A delicious, spicy Pandang specialty from Lombok, Indonesia

Remove the skin from the chicken and cut into eight equal pieces. Wash the lemons and squeeze out the juice. Discard the peels. Place the chicken in a bowl and rub it with the lemon juice. Marinate for 15 minutes. Cut off the tough stem of the lemongrass and remove the brown or dark green leaves. Use only the white part (about the bottom third). Pound this slightly until soft. Split the macadamia nuts vertically and check for mold. If they are okay, chop them; otherwise, throw them in the organic waste. Wash the small green chilies, remove the stems, and cut them into thirds, leaving the seeds. Trim both ends of the small red onions and garlic cloves, peel them, and chop them. Wash, peel, and thinly slice the fresh galangal, removing the dark eyes and cutting the slices into cubes. Wash, peel, and thinly slice the ginger, then chop them. Wear household gloves when handling the fresh turmeric root. Wash the turmeric, peel it with a vegetable peeler, and chop it. Heat a medium-sized pan. Add the peanut oil from the sambal and heat until hot. Add the macadamia nuts first, then roast the onions and garlic. Finally, add all the root pieces and roast until fragrant. Deglaze with the orange juice and simmer for another three to four minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Then add the mixture to a blender and blend coarsely for 30 seconds on the lowest setting. Add a little orange juice, if desired, and blend finely for another 60 seconds on the highest setting. Return the mixture to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes to thicken slightly and activate the spices. Combine all the ingredients for the main course in a sufficiently large pot and heat until boiling, stirring constantly. Simmer for about 3-5 minutes, then stir in the sambal. Simmer uncovered for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Now it’s time to wash the rice (not for paraboiled rice) and then boil it in 3 cups of water until soft. Once the Gulai Hijau Ayam is done, the rice is also cooked. Garnish, serve, and enjoy. Enjoy! Note: If you venture a little away from the touristy streets, you can find food stalls, so-called “warung,” all over Indonesia. Some are also called “lesehan,” which means that there is no table or chair, but rather a carpeted – usually tiled – floor to sit on. Many of these warung offer food à la “padang,” which is then called “makanan padang.” Translated, “padang” means “wide field, large area,” and in this case, it simply means that you can choose from a large number of dishes. What all padang dishes have in common is that they are exceptionally (and often spicy) seasoned and ready-made. They are served from the shelf to the table, meaning they are enjoyed at room temperature. When the outside temperature feels like 35 degrees Celsius (or two degrees Celsius less if you find shade), you can’t eat hot food. Padang dishes are always cooked, fried, boiled, and deep-fried for a long time, and are certainly sterile during this time. Apart from the spiciness of the dishes, the amount of spices, leaves, and roots used makes them among the tastiest dishes Indonesia has to offer. They are usually served “dry,” meaning they are cooked uncovered until only a crumbly paste remains around the pieces of meat. Various fresh sambals are served with them, rather than a liquid version. I personally prefer a version with a flavorful sauce. Due to the nature of this version, called “gulai” here, it can’t wait very long for the guest to arrive, so it always arrives at the table, more or less fresh.