Chili, a HOT commodity

The title of this post is not pun intended. In-deed, recently chili has become a HOT commodity in my country both literally and figuratively. Since the end of 2010, the price of chili has gone through the roof. Reaching an impressive IDR 100,000 (US $ 11.1) per kilogram, or five times its normal price and more than the price of chicken meat, it has truly become a hot commodity on dining table and in kitchens of most people in my country.



In less than one week, I already noticed more than 3 articles about this ‘hot commodity’ on headlines of Jakarta Post, one of the local newspapers. Both newspapers and social networking sites have been flooded with ironic messages and posts about chilies. Let me quote some interesting statements:


‘Asnidar is willing to sacrifice her family’s meat consumption in order to keep chili on the table. Chili is our staple food, not rice or meat, she said.’


‘Housewife Desi Octaviani said her family had replaced the hot flavor of chili with pepper’


‘The chili shortage hit lovers of fried snacks particularly hard. On a good day, fried snack vendors are generous in handing out fresh chilies as a complement. Now for 10 pieces of fried-snacks, the vendors only give 3 pieces of chili, tiny ones, told by office worker Rachmadin.’


‘Adisya said that the food at her favorite restaurants had dulled although it still contained chili. The taste is less spicy because they put more tomotoes in it.’


‘Rising chili prices have given us a chance to explore other Indonesian flavors, wrote Bondan Winarno, culinary expert.’


‘In Banyumas, Central Java, food traders tried their best to provide the usual menu at the same price. “We feel sorry for our customers because we cannot provide sambal (chili paste) for them,” Sumini said’.


People in Indonesia hardly go without eating fiery dishes during mealtimes. The hottest condiment known as ‘sambal’ or chili paste is a must-have accompaniment for every meal.

Life without sambal would be so plain for me and I think also for millions of other Indonesians. Imagine life for Koreans without kimchi, Americans without hamburger or Mexicans without tortillas. That is how it has felt for a large number of people in my country over the past few weeks.


Now let’s take a closer look at Indonesia’s treasure chest of Sambals:


Sambal is served as a condiment and as an ingredient for a variety of dishes. It is sometimes a substitute for fresh chilies. It can be extremely spicy for the uninitiated. It is common to find bowls of different sambals on the dining table in Indonesian homes.


Some popular Indonesian sambals include sambal terasi (shrimp paste sambal), sambal bajak, sambal mangga (green mango sambal), sambal ijo (green sambal), sambal balado, sambal kecap (sweet soy sauce sambal), sambal setan, sambal Taliwang, sambal matah and many more.


Sambal Terasi

A common Indonesian style of sambal. Terasi (shrimp paste) is similar to the Malaysian Belacan, but with a stronger flavor since terasi is a more condensed shrimp paste than belacan.


Sambal Bajak

Chili (or another kind of red pepper) fried with oil, garlic, terasi, candlenuts and other condiments


Sambal mangga

Freshly ground Sambal Terasi with shredded young mango; this is a good accompaniment to seafood.


Sambal ijo

A specialty of the Padang area from Indonesia, the sambal is green, made of green tomatoes, green chilli, and spices. The sambal is stir fried.


Sambal Balado

This is the Padang style of Sambal. Red chili pepper is blended together with garlic, shallot, tomato, salt and lemon or lime juice, then sauteed with oil.


Sambal Kecap Manis

Indonesian sweet soy sauce, chili, shallots and lime it has a chiefly sweet taste, as said by the Indonesian word ‘manis’ which means ‘sweet’.


Sambal Setan

A very hot sambal with Madame Jeanette peppers (red brownish, very sharp). The name literally means “Devil’s Sauce”.


Sambal Taliwang

This variant is native to Taliwang, a village near Mataram, Lombok Island, and is made from naga jolokia pepper grown specially in Lombok mixed with garlic and Lombok shrimp paste. It is served as condiments to ayam bakar Taliwang (Taliwang grilled chikcen)


Sambal matah

Raw Shallot & Lemongrass Sambal of Bali origin. It contains a lot of finely chopped shallots, chopped bird’s eye chilli, shrimp paste (terasi), with a dash of lemon.



There are still many other types of sambals ….. but for today, let me close this post by quoting Bondan Winarno, a culinary expert who asked people to look at the brighter side: ‘Rising chili prices have given us a chance to explore other Indonesian flavors. There are other hot flavors such as pepper, andaliman (szechuan peppercorn) and ginger’.


So perhaps it isn’t the end of the world after all for all lovers of chili in Indonesia.

Chicken Run

The title of this post is not mine. I borrow it from a 2000 British stop-motion animation made by the Aardman Animation studios, the production studio of the Oscar-winning Wallace and Gromit films.

The film centers around a band of chickens, who seek a smooth-talking Rhode Island Red named Rocky as their only hope to escape from their certain death when the owners of their farm decide to move from selling eggs to selling chicken pot pies.

Why Chicken?

If there is one word that describes chicken, it is versatility. Roasted, broiled, grilled or poached, and combined with a wide range of herbs and spices, chicken makes a delicious, flavorful and nutritious meal. It is no wonder chicken is the world’s primary source of animal protein and a healthy alternative to red meat. It is available to enjoy throughout the year.

Very Good Source of Protein


Chicken is rated as a very good source of protein, providing 67.6% of the daily value for protein in 4 ounces. People who are meat eaters, but are looking for ways to reduce the amount of fat in their meals, can try eating more chicken. The leanest part of the chicken is the chicken breast, which has less than half the fat of a trimmed Choice grade T-bone steak and chicken is best skinned before cooking.


Chicken is a very popular food in Indonesia as well as throughout the world. And no wonder since it is delicious, nutritious and can be prepared a multitude of ways. From fried chicken to barbequed chicken to chicken satay to homemade chicken soup, chicken is appreciated and valued by people of all ages as well as by diverse cultural culinary traditions.



In Latin, the scientific name for chicken is Gallus domesticus.



How to select and store chicken

When purchasing whole chickens, look for ones that have a solid and plump shape with a rounded breast. Whether purchasing a whole chicken or chicken parts, the chicken should feel pliable when gently pressed, and it should not have an “off” smell. Do not buy chicken if the sell-by date on the label has already expired.

The color of the chicken’s skin, white or yellow, does not have any bearing on its nutritional value. Regardless of color, the skin should be opaque and not spotted.

Chicken should be stored in the coldest section of your refrigerator. If the store packaging is intact and secure, store it this way since this will reduce the amount of handling. If the packaging is not secure, and it seems as if the chicken liquids will leak, rewrap it securely before storing. This is very important to make sure that the chicken does not contaminate other foods in the refrigerator. Refrigerated raw chicken can keep for two to three days.

Indonesian Chicken Cuisine

Indonesian cuisine is one of the most vibrant and colourful cuisines in the world, full of intense flavour and varied textures. It’s as diverse as the Indonesian culture, with culinary influences from China, Europe and India.

Recipes for Indonesian-Inspired-Spicy-Chicken are easily made in any kitchen, by any level of cook and guaranteed to awaken your tastebud and spice up your life!

 
Mixed-Spicy-Shredded Chicken (Ayam Suwir Bumbu Rujak)

Ingredients

• 400 gram boneless, skinless chicken breast roasted for 10 minutes or until done. When cool, shred the meat by hand into fine strips
• 200 ml coconut milk

Ingredients for the spice paste

• 10 finger-length chilies, chopped
• 5 bird’s eye chilies, chopped
• 1 teaspoon of roasted shrimp paste
• 20 gram palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon tamarind paste

Put all ingredients in a mortar and using pestle, grind into spice paste

How to make:

• In a saucepan, combine the shredded chicken with the spice paste and mix well
• Add in the coconut milk
• Cook on medium heat until the coconut milk is evaporated
• Stir well until the shredded chicken is dry
• Remove from heat

Serve warm with rice


Galangal Fried Chicken (Ayam Goreng Lengkuas)

Ingredients:

• 1 kg whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 4 tablespoons shredded galangal
• 2 salam leaves or bay leaves as substitute
• 1 stalk lemon grass, bruised
• Oil for deep-frying

Ingredients for the Spices paste:

• 3 cloves garlic
• 5 shallots
• 3 candlenuts, roasted
• 1 teaspoon tamarind paste
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• Salt and sugar to taste

Put all the ingredients in a mortar and using pestle grind into spice paste

How to make:

• Combine chicken with ground spices and shredded galangal and mix thoroughly.
• Heat oil in wok – or use a frying pan and fry the chicken.
• Add salam leaves and lemon grass.
• Cover the wok and fry over low heat, adding a little water if necessary.
• Cook the chicken until golden brown, then drain.

Authentic Indonesian Chicken Satay (Sate Ayam)

Ingredients:

• 7 Shallots
• 10 candle nuts, roasted
• 8 cloves of garlic
• Bamboo skewers (as needed)
• 3 kg chicken meat (cut into 2 cm cubes)
• 60 ml oil
• Salt (as needed)
• 2 cups (500ml) Indonesian sweet soy sauce
• 2 red chili peppers
• 16 bird’s eye chilies (optional)
• 1kg roasted peanuts (ground to a paste)
• 60ml lime juice

How to make:

• Grind shallot, garlic, candle nut, red chili pepper, and bird’s eye chilies to a fine paste.
• Heat oil in a saucepan then sauté the paste until lightly brown.
• Add ground peanuts, 1 cup sweet soy sauce, salt and water.
• Mix well and slowly bring to a boil.
• Remove saucepan from heat and add lime juice.
• Cool to room temperature.
• Impale chicken pieces on bamboo skewers until 3/4 full.
• Marinate chicken satay for at least 2 hours with a quarter of the peanut sauce and 1 cup of sweet soy sauce.
• Sprinkle salt on satay before grilling.
• Grill satay for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally
• Serve with the peanut sauce and rice-cake (lontong)
• Garnish with cucumber & sliced shallots

Spicy Chicken Soup (Soto Ayam)

Ingredients :

• +/- 250 g chicken breast
• 3 tablespoons sliced onion
• 3 tablespoons sliced celery
• 1 stalk lemon grass, bruised
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 2000 ml water
• 2 tablespoons oil

Spices :

• 4 tablespoons sliced shallots
• 2 tablespoons sliced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon sliced turmeric
• 6 roasted candlenuts
• 1 teaspoon sliced ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Accompaniments :

• 3 hard boiled eggs, sliced
• 250 g vermicelli, soaked in hot water
• 100 g bean sprouts, blanched
• 1 lime, sliced
• Fried sliced shallots, potato chips, sweet soy sauce

Sambal :

• 10 red chilies, boiled
• 1 teaspoon salt

How to make :

• boil the chicken breast until tender, take the chicken breast out. Deep fry until golden and cut into small pieces.
• Keep boiling the chicken stock until the stock remains 1000 ml.
• Blend all spices into a paste. Saute the paste with oil, add lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves until fragrant.
• Remove into the stockpot and continue boiling until well cooked.

How to Serve :

• arrange in a bowl : chicken vermicelli, bean sprouts, green onion, celery and eggs.
• Pour-in the hot soto soup, put on top the potato chips, sprinkle with fried shallots.
• Serve with soy sauce, sambal and sliced lime.
• To make sambal : boil 10 red chilies add salt then blend.

References:

• WHFoods
• ResepMasakanIndonesia
• Selera Nusantara