Semur Ayam: Dutch-Indonesian Chicken Braised in Soy Sauce

Method9 steps · about 50 min

1. 1

   Step 1: Grind or blend into a fine paste: shallots (6), garlic (3 cloves) and ginger (3 cm).

   Uses 6 shallots, peeled, chopped · 3 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped · 3 cm ginger, peeled, chopped

2. 2

   Step 2: Heat the oil (3 tbsp) over medium high heat in a wok, and then sauté the ground spices and lemongrass (1) until fragrant, around 3 minutes.

   Sauté chicken-semur paste and lemongrass · 3 minUses 3 tbsp cooking oil · chicken-semur spice paste · 1 lemongrass, bruised, knotted

   
3. 3

   Step 3: Add the chicken (0.5) pieces, and fry for about 4 minutes.

   Initial chicken fry in semur spices · 4 minUses fried chicken-semur paste and lemongrass · 0.5 whole chicken, cut into pieces

   
4. 4

   Step 4: Add salt (to taste), nutmeg (¼ tsp) and white pepper (0.5 tsp) powder.

   Uses chicken fried in semur spices · Salt to taste · ¼ tsp ground nutmeg · 0.5 tsp ground white pepper

5. 5

   Step 5: Add water (700 ml).

   Uses seasoned chicken and spices · 700 ml water

6. 6

   Step 6: Add sweet soy sauce (5 tbsp). Mix and bring to boil.

   Uses chicken and spices in water · 5 tbsp sweet soy sauce

   
7. 7

   Step 7: Drain the potato (2) chunks from their preparation water. Add them to the boiling chicken broth, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for around 20 minutes.

   Simmer chicken and potatoes · 20 minUses boiling sweet-soy chicken broth · 2 potatoes, peeled, cut to big chunks and soaked in cold water · Cold water as needed for potato preparation, drained

   
8. 8

   Step 8: Add the chopped tomato and optional chillies, and cook for around 5 minutes longer. Continue as needed until the potatoes are tender and the chicken reaches 74°C/165°F in the thickest part away from bone.

   Finish tomato and optional chillies in chicken semur · 5 minUses simmered chicken and potatoes · 1 big red tomato, chopped · 2 bird’s eye chillies, halved, remove the seeds (optional)

9. 9

   Step 9: Turn off the heat and let the semur rest for a while before serving.

   Uses finished chicken and potato semur