Learn to make Ajam Besengeh, or Ajam Kuning. This Indonesian chicken dish is cooked with an extremely fragrant and flavorful yellow coconut milk sauce that is filled with herbs, spices, and aromatics. It’s a great dish served with some acar campur, steamed vegetables, and rice!
This is another dish that I learned about in the Navy. It’s an unbelievably fragrant and delicious dish, with tender chicken, and a sauce that coats every piece of chicken. The flavor is complex, with hints of citrus, turmeric, onion, with some heat from the chilies. Whenever I make a rijsttafel, this is always on the menu!
Ajam Besengeh / Kuning: Indonesian Chicken in Yellow Coconut Sauce
Learn to make Ajam Besengeh, or Ajam Kuning. This Indonesian chicken dish is cooked with an extremely fragrant and flavorful yellow coconut milk sauce that is filled with herbs, spices, and aromatics. It's a great dish served with some acar campur, steamed vegetables, and rice!
In a small bowl, mix the tamarind puree with the hot water. Mix until the puree is dissolved.
If you cannot find tamarind puree, mix 2 tsp of lime juice in 2 tsp of water instead.
Cut one the onion into large chunks.
Cut the light parts of the scallion into chunks. Do not throw away the dark part; we'll use that later.
Deseed the chilies.
Peel (with a spoon) a piece of ginger, and cut a 1cm slice (0.4 inch) thick.
Cut two 1cm (0.4 inch) slices of galangal, and peel them.
Preparing the other ingredients
Cut the chicken into large chunks.
Deseed the chili.
Finely dice the chili and onion.
With a mallet, bruise the lemon grass, and put it into a knot.
Slice the dark pieces of scallion into rings.
Preparing the bumbu (spice paste)
In a food processor, add all the bumbu ingredients, and pulse until it forms a paste without any large chunks in it.
You will have to scrape down the sides and lid of the food processor from time to time, to make sure all the ingredients get in contact with the blades.
Cooking the ajam besengeh
In a cast-iron wok over medium-high heat, add 1tbsp of the thick layer on top of the coconut milk.
It will start bubbling, which is normal, after which it will turn clear. That's when you're ready to move onto the next step. (Approximately 3 minutes)
Add the spice paste, and while stirring constantly, cook until it starts to dry out a bit. Around 3 minutes.
Add the diced onions and chilies. Stirring constantly, cook them until the onions turn glassy, approximately 2 minutes.
Add the chicken, and stir constantly, to make sure the chicken is coated with the spice paste. Cook until all the chicken has been seared on all sides. (about 4-5 minutes)
Add the coconut milk, and stir it all, until all the sauce is the same color yellow.
Add the lemon grass, make sure it's immersed. Then, lower the heat, and let it simmer (stirring occasionally) until the chicken is fully cooked.
Remove the chicken from the pan, and increase the heat. Let the sauce cook down by one-third.
Once the sauce is cooked down, add the chicken back in, and over low heat, cook it for a bit, to make sure the chicken is warm.
Serve, and garnish with the dark parts of the scallions.
