Semarang Fried Chicken

Everywhere in the world, people make different kinds of fried chicken. In California, the most popular would be KFC-style fried chicken (chicken breaded in seasoned flour), eaten with fries. I like this style as much as I enjoy traditional Semarang fried chicken (boiled in spices, then deep fried until golden and the liquid turns into yummylicious crumbs)

Whenever we visit our hometown--Semarang, we always...always set aside some time to eat Salim fried chicken or Memet fried chicken in Mataram St. They are equally delicious and jam-packed with fried chicken lovers. Actually, there are myriads of fried-chicken eateries, from the hole-in-the-wall eateries to franchise restaurants. All offering the same type of food: fried chicken.

Today, I tried to make our favorite poultry meal using my mom's recipe that I barely remember. This recipe is actually the complete version since I use galangal powder, cumin, and bay leaves that I recently bought. In Indonesia or Singapore, I always use fresh galangal and bay leaves; in here, fresh galangal is pretty expensive and I have yet to find fresh asian bay leaves. However, I'm happy that it turns out well: yummy and authentic (though pretty laborious, especially grinding the spices).

It all begins with the chickens. I use eight chicken thighs as hubby loves dark meat. I'm contented that I can find all asian ingredients that I need in the Bay area. Americans are so blessed, they can find everything around the world from spices to clothing and cars, within few minutes of driving, or few clicks away.

All the ingredients are basically shown in the picture above.

This is not my favorite part: grinding the spices with mortar and pestle (garlic, shallot, corriander seeds, ginger, salt,candlenuts and all...) but it's actually the main sequence.


After the calorie-burning-fifteen-minutes-later, voila! I finally managed to turn everything into paste, and I add in the bay leaves, galangal powder and cumin powder (and grind 'em all again--oh gosh!)


Once the paste is smooth, heat up 2 tbs of oil in a pan, and sautee the paste until fragrant. Then add a little water bit by bit, and stir the mixture around.


Put the thighs in, add more water until the chickens are submerged. Close the pan, and cook over medium heat for 45 minutes.


There you have it! The liquid is reduced and another fifteen minutes, it's ready to pan-fried or deep-fried.


My home is a no deep-fried zone. So I guess I have to bear with pan-frying. It's still yummy, but the sinful way of cooking still makes the best fried chicken (well, it's called fried chicken after all) Pan fry 'till they're nicely brown and the liquid turns to crumbs that stuck on the pan *sigh* (but the effort to scrape them off is so worth it. I don't want to miss a single dot of crumbs; it has the additive flavor that you can just eat with plain rice)


Enjoy while it's still hot!


Rice and sambal are its best friends. Eat them together with your fingers like a caveman. A bit of sweet soy sauce complement the savory chicken and hot sambal. Your tongue will dance with joy ;p


INDONESIAN FRIED CHICKEN
Ingredients:
8 chicken thighs skin on
1/2 tsp pepper (I used black pepper)
1 tsp sweet soy sauce
Oil for pan frying ans sauteeing
water

To grind:
8 cloves of garlic
4 shallots
2 tsp corriander seeds10 candlenuts
about 1 inch of ginger
10 small dried bay leaves
1 tsp galangal powder
1/2 tsp cumin
2 1/2 tsp salt

Methods:
Clean and set aside the chicken. Grind the rest of specified ingredients using mortar and pestle or food processor until smooth and pasty.
Heat 2 tbs of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Put in the paste and saute for half minute until fragrant. Add water little by little. Add in sweet soy sauce and balck pepper.
Put in the chicken and add more water until all the chicken are submerged. Cover pan with lid and let it boil on medium heat for about 45 minutes. Reduce the heat, and cook for another 15 minutes.
Prepare another pan; heat and pour in 2 tbs of olive oil. Put in the chicken with liquid. You can either deep fry or pan fry until the chicken is browned and the liquid turns to delicious crumbs. Serve with rice and sambal.

Salmon Steak

I'm not a big fan of sea food, and I rarely cook 'em. But I'm a sucker for deals and that happened last weekend when I bought a gorgeous salmon tail fillet for just a fraction of restaurant's price. It had been sitting in my freezer for three days and I needed to do something about it.

I did an experiment to get rid of the fishy smell. Salmon has a strong aroma and flavor. The smell can linger in my kitchen for days, especially when pan-fried. So, I did an experiment by quick-boiling the fillet for a short time. This way the fish will lose its strong smell, but it's not yet cooked so I can still pan-fry it to bring out the flavor.

Here's the gorgeous fillet frozen...


And here it is after cleaning and a few minutes of thawing. I was actually impatient to thaw it completely. So, I went right away to boil it.


Boiling while it's still frozen turned out to be a good idea. The flesh was still firm and it would not break apart. Another important thing is to boil it in a bubbling but not boiling water (with an assumption that hot boiling water might cause some destruction to the fragile flesh)


About less than five minutes later, the outer part of the fish was getting whitish already, but the inside is still raw. I'm happy that it still retained its shape (not for a long time though ;p)


I seasoned it with generous amount of olive oil, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, paprika powder, and a little bit of dried Italian herbs.


After heating 3 tbs of olive oil over low heat with a sprinkle of salt, I happily placed the fillet skin down first. It looked gorgeous and seemed to end up just like how I'd imagined it.


Five minutes later, I tried to flip the fillet but ouch! The skin stuck on the pan! I had to cut it into two, and found that the middle part was not cooked yet (see the red streaks between the seasonings). It's painful to see your imagination crumble. I should have used a non-stick pan.


This was after I flipped the cuts the second time. The seasonings would not stick to the fish T.T


About seven minutes in total, they were pretty much done. I managed to scrape the skin off the pan, fiuhhh... But my mistake turned to be a good thing. The skin was crispy and great!


The delicious crispy skin was a great garnish. I'm glad that everything still turned out pretty despite the messy process :) I use Teriyaki sauce, wasabi and onion cheese spread as accompaniments to the dish. Yum!


I took a bite..and smile. Hmm... it's good! Enakkk! I guess having salmon steak once a week should be a good idea. It's healthy and easy to make. And maybe I should start shopping for a non-stick pan too...One thing I learned today: behind every wonderful dish, there might be a messy kitchen at the background.



Easy Salmon Steak (even easier if cooked in a non-stick pan)

Ingredients:
salmon fillet seasoned with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, paprika powder and a little dried Italian herb
3 tbs olive oil for pan-fry
a dash of salt to season the olive oil

Sauce:
Teriyaki sauce
Wasabi paste
Onion cheese spread

Method:
Quick boil the salmon in a bubbling water for about 3 to 5 minutes, take out from pan, set aside. Coat the salmon with olive oil, the rub the seasoning generously all over the fillet.

Heat 3 tbs of olive oil in a pan (better be non-stick) over a low heat, place the fillet carefully skin down first. Flip the fish after five minutes of cooking. Drizzle to top side with more olive oil and seasonings.

Once the flesh is firm and slightly brown, turn off the heat and arrange the fish on a plate. Serve with rice, teriyaki sauce, wasabi and onion cheese spread.