Ayam asam manis ala Raja Lombok

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 1 chicken, cut up, approx. 1.5 kg
• 1 liter of frying oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce, light
• 1 tbsp soy sauce, sweet
• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 4 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 5 small red chili peppers
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
• 2 tbsp vinegar, black, Chinese, alternatively balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp tamarind syrup
• 3 g shrimp paste (terasi)
• 2 tbsp marinade
• 120 g guava juice
• 2 medium-sized garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp, leveled tapioca flour
• 2 tbsp rice wine (Arak Masak)
• 6 small onions, red
• 1 pepper, red, long
• 1 spring onion(s)
• 10 slices of carrot
• 2 tbsp mango(s) (see my recipe “Marinating Unripe Mango into a Delicacy II”)
• 1 tbsp palm oil
• 2 tbsp cucumber(s) (see my recipe “Spicy Cucumber Pieces à la Hong Kong”)
• 2 bowls of rice (see my recipe “Rainbow Rice à la Lombok Raja”)
• n. B. flowers and leaves

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Rest period approx. 1 day; Cooking/baking time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 1 day 1 hour 5 minutes

A truly royal dish with exotic spices.

Cut up the chicken and wash and dry the pieces thoroughly. Remove any fat and skin. For the marinade, wash the chilies, deseed them, and cut them crosswise into thin strips. Trim the ends of the garlic cloves and squeeze the juices. Combine all ingredients in a large enough bowl and rub well into the chicken pieces. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade and dry them. Do not discard the marinade. Remove the chili threads from the chicken pieces. Set aside. Mix all liquid ingredients for the asam manis sauce, including the guava juice. Dissolve the tapioca flour in the rice wine. Trim both ends of the garlic cloves and press them through a garlic press into the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the tapioca-rice wine mixture in small portions, stirring continuously. The sauce needs to thicken slightly, but it must remain thin. Stop adding if necessary. Heat the frying oil to 160 degrees Celsius. In the meantime, wash the vegetables and peel them if necessary. Trim both ends of the small red onions, peel them, and quarter them lengthwise. Cut the long red bell pepper lengthwise, remove the seeds, and cut crosswise into approximately 1 cm wide strips. Diagonally divide the white to light green, thick-walled parts of the spring onion into 2 cm long pieces. Cut the green parts into 1 cm long pieces and set aside. Score the peeled carrot lengthwise 6 times around the circumference, then cut crosswise into 5 mm thick slices. Prepare and garnish the serving plates with the side dishes. Fry the chicken pieces in batches for approximately 6 minutes. Note: the temperature can be slightly lower, but should not exceed the desired temperature. Add the fried pieces to the simmering sauce. Heat a wok, add the palm oil, and heat until hot. Add the vegetables and mango pieces and stir-fry for 4 minutes. Now add the green spring onion pieces and fry for 15 seconds. Divide the vegetables, chicken pieces, and sauce among serving plates and serve warm.