One Pot Balinese Chicken
This version of Balinese chicken, is simple enough that you don't have to go hunting all over town for ingredients. It's tangy and delicious and one pot wonderful. Watch the video to see how easy it is.
Ingredients
- 6 whole Chicken cutlets skin on bone in
- 40 ml oil
Flavour Paste
- 200 gm onion chopped into dice
- 30 gm garlic 6 cloves, crushed
- 80 gm ginger grated or chopped fine
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 200 ml tomato passata plain tomato puree
- 1 tablespoon chilli paste unsweetened, masterfoods
- 2 whole limes zested
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 20 ml Soy Sauce light soy ( not dark) 1 tablespoon
Other ingredients to finish the sauce
- 20 ml Ketchup Manis Sweet Soy Sauce 1 Tablespoon
- 400 ml coconut cream 1 can
- 80 ml lime juice 4 tablespoons
- 1 stick lemongrass cut into sections
- 6 whole lime leaves
Instructions
- Set the oven to 190 C. You will need an ovenproof pot to bake your chicken in.
- Put the onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, chilli paste, sugar, soy sauce, lime zest and tomato puree into put a food processor and pulse into a paste. (You could also use a stick blender for this. Just make a nice smooth paste. This will form your sauce)
- Pour the paste into a bowl and add the 6 pieces of chicken turning to coat in the marinade while you get the other ingredients ready.
- Heat the pot you will use to bake the chicken. Add the oil and then shake off excess marinade from each piece of chicken and add one by one to the pot. Sear on both sides till golden and coloured. Take out of the pot and set aside once done. Remember this is just to seal and colour the outside
- Add the flavour paste to the pot and stir while it is cooking. The paste needs to cook out. (Cooking the paste cooks out the water and then caramelises and sweetens it.) This will take about 5- 8 minutes on a medium to high heat. It will begin to darken and smell fragrant. Add the sweet soy sauce and stir in well for 1 minutes. Don't let the paste catch on the bottom. Reduce the heat if you need to.
- Pour in the coconut, lime juice then add the lemon grass, lime leaves and a small pinch of salt. Stir well.
- Return the chicken to the pot letting it peak above the sauce to further brown and colour and bake without a lid for around 40 minutes. Test one of the thighs by piecing with a knife. The juices should run clear.
- Serve with rice. You can also add chopped roasted macadamia nuts or peanuts and crispy fried shallots ( from Asian supermarkets)
Notes
I use a Le Creuset baking pot but you can use any thick based baking / cooking pot with high sides about 24-28 cm /10-12 in. A roasting pan that is flat and large is not suitable because it is too wide for the sauce to bubble around the chicken.
You can use the chicken straight away without the need to marinade for a long time. Equally you could marinade for a few hours or even overnight if you like.
You can also use a whole chicken or boneless pieces. A whole chicken will take around 60 minutes (test the leg for when the juices run clear. The boneless pieces will take less time. Around 30 minutes for thighs and approx 20 minutes for breasts ( depending on there size) The recipe is best though with chicken on the bone ( its juicier)
If the bottom of the pot is very darkened or burnt once the chicken is sealed it is better to use a piece of kitchen paper to clean. Add a bit more oil, heat and add the paste after that.
It is important to cook out the paste well till the colour changes and it smells fragrant.
Never save part of the marinade. It must be cooked out as it has had raw chicken in it.