Braised Chicken in White Gravy - Opor Ayam  Add/Read Comments

Ingredients gathered - tamarind paste, lemon grass, pineapple chunks, galangal, chillies, shallots, bay leaves, noodles plus chicken, mackerel and coconut milk - but confusion reigns over which dishes I had decided to create! A cheap book picked up from Amazon (Singaporean, Malaysian & Indonesian Cuisine by Christina Sjahir Hwang) provided more than enough inspiration and nicely covered the theme of this months Waiter - Vaguely Indonesian. But of course I neglected to note which dishes I would try.

Several recipes fitted the mass of ingredients - I picked on one and even went as far as defrosting the fish, only to find that I was bereft of fish stock. That one, Penang Noodle Soup, will have to wait until tomorrow. First up will be Braised Chicken in White Gravy (Opor Ayam) and damn tasty it was too.

Braised Chicken in White Gravy Opr Ayam
from Singaporean, Malaysian & Indonesian Cuisine by Christina Sjahir Hwang. Serves 2

• 600g chicken joints
• 4 tsp Fragrant Paste (I used Thai red paste)
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 crushed lemon grass
• 3 each bay leave, galangal slices
• 1 cup stock (I used chicken)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp crispy shallots

Crispy Shallots are thingy sliced shallots, deep fried until brown and crispy. Galangal is a varietyof ginger, I found some in Whole Foods.

Brown chicken in oil. Add paste, coriander powder, lemon grass, bay leaves, galangal and stock. Reduce hea to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Add coconut milk, salt and sugar and turn heat up. Cook until sauce thickens. Serve with crispy shallots (and shredded red chile) and rice.

My first entry for Waiter...