Indonesian Ayam Kalasan (twice cooked - grill or fried chicken with coconut juice spice marinade)

There are many versions for this Indonesian dish. I believe this one has a good balance of spices and is not too difficult to make.

Ingredients
Whole chicken (or 6 to 8 chicken drumsticks)
Coconut juice (yes, not coconut milk)

Spice & Seasoning 
Ground coriander
Ground cumin (a pinch)
Ground turmeric (a pinch)
Nutmeg (a tiny pinch)
Bashed lemongrass (2 stalks)
Galanga (2 slices)
Garlic
Red shallot
Salt
Pepper

Fresh dipping salsa sauce:
Tomatoes, Chilli, Dark Soy sauce, spring onions.
Chop finely and mix well.

Side salad:
Lettuce (buttercut or Italian cos)
Cucumber sliced thinly

Method:

1. Heat oil in frying pan. Fry garlic, shallot, galangal and lemongrass till fragrant.
2. Add dry ground spices. Turn down the heat.
3. Pour in coconut juice (fresh or packed) and bring to the boil.
4. Put in chicken (whole or pieces). Cover and turn down the heat.
5. After 10 minutes, remove chicken from the pot and drain excess stock.
6. Rest the meat for at least 5 - 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, heat up the grill. Alternatively, you may pan fry or deep fry the meat.
8. Fry or grill on both sides till golden brown.
9. Serve with steamed rice (coconut, pandan or saffron), salsa dip and salad (ingredients as above) and spicy soup. Yes!




* Bonus dish: drain the spices from the marinade/chicken stock.
Add cubed carrots, potatoes and onions and bring to the boil. Viola!

* Note: this is the "reverse" process of the Vietnamese coconut juice chicken which I will be sharing with you soon.

Japanese / Korean Spring Rolls

My favourite spring rolls, the best in town, could be found in a suburban Japanese / Korean restaurant quite close to home. It's delicious because it tastes like what most doting grandmas or mums would cook for their loved ones on a cold evening or just for snacks to satisfy hunger panks and cravings. No excessive use of salty minced meat, spices and green peas (no-no, that's for curry puffs and samosas only).

Filling : cabbage, carrot, shitake mushroom, yam bean (if available), prawn (can be raw), minced meat (preferably steamed cooked or stir fried beforehand)


Herbs : coriander and spring onions (optional)


Seasoning : soy sauce, pepper, oyster sauce

Assembly : Put filling in an elongated fashion about 1/3 way of the spring roll pastry end 
(The wrapper should be softened from frozen pack and covered with a damp cloth to prevent drying up). 
Roll from one side, Fold the flaps on the adjacent two ends. Continue rolling lengthwise. 


Cooking :  Heat up vegetable oil till 160 degrees Centrigrade. Fry spring rolls on both sides for 3 minutes or till golden and crispy. Place cooked spring rolls on blotting paper to absorb excess oil before serving.


Dipping sauces : worchestershire and sweet chilli