Home / All Recipes / Indonesian / Ayam Sambal Goreng Sereh - Chicken in Spicy Lemongrass Sauce
Ayam Sambal Goreng Sereh - Chicken in Spicy Lemongrass Sauce
This chicken in spicy lemongrass sauce tastes so good it will knock your socks off. If you are not ready to commit to a rendang dish, this will be a gentler introduction.
Eating rice for breakfast might be an alien concept for non-Asian, but this is not a strange concept for most Indonesians.
Whenever my Mom prepares rice for breakfast, it usually means nasi uduk with multiple dishes. One of the dishes are usually meat, such as fried chicken, beef rendang/chicken rendang, or occasionally, ayam sambal goreng sereh.
Today I will share my recipe for ayam sambal goreng sereh (chicken in spicy lemongrass sauce). The list of spices for this dish is much shorter compared to a rendang, but it still packs a punch and just as satisfying. Of course, you can serve this for lunch or dinner if having a heavy rice meal for breakfast is not for you. 😁
Ingredients for ayam sambal goreng sereh
1. Bone-in chicken with skin
First, we will need some bone-in chicken with skin. You can buy a whole chicken and cut it up into 8-12 pieces, or you can use about 4-5 chicken leg quarters and separate them into thighs and drumsticks.
2. Spices and seasonings
We will need salt, coconut palm sugar, turmeric, tamarind, coconut milk, garlic, shallot, galangal, red chilies, and lemongrass.
How to cook ayam sambal goreng sereh
1. Marinate chicken
Start with rubbing the chicken pieces with salt and turmeric. Set aside for 15 minutes.
2. Prepare spice paste
Grind garlic, shallot, galangal, red chilies, and the white part of lemongrass in a food processor or with a mortar and a pestle into a smooth paste.
3. Fry chicken
Heat about three tablespoons of oil in a wok over medium-high and fry the chicken until the skin is crispy and golden brown. It is okay for the chicken to be not 100% cooked. Set aside.
4. Sauté spice and lemongrass
In the same wok, fry the spice paste, turmeric, and the green part of lemongrass until fragrant. About 5 minutes.
5. Add chicken and the rest of the ingredients
Return fried chicken into the wok, along with coconut milk, tamarind liquid, salt, and coconut palm sugar. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce is very thick and the chicken is tender and cooked.
Turn it into a complete Indonesian rice meal
As I mention earlier, we usually serve this as part of a nasi uduk ensemble. If you would like to follow suit, you can try preparing some of these dishes and serve them all together.
- nasi uduk (coconut rice)
- telur dadar gulung (rolled fried egg)
- fried tempeh
- fried tofu
- sambal terasi
- acar
- cucumber and tomato slices
Ayam Sambal Goreng Sereh - Chicken in Spicy Lemongrass Sauce
Ingredients
- 8-10 pieces of bone-in chicken (I use thighs and drumsticks)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 3 tablespoon oil
- 2 lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh), green part only
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder (Indonesian: bubuk kunyit)
- 1 can (400 ml) coconut milk
- tamarind liquid (from 1/2 tablespoon tamarind + 4 tablespoon water), mix well and strained
- 2 tablespoon coconut palm sugar, or to taste
- 2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- Grind the following into spice paste
- 10-20 red cayenne chilies (Indonesian: cabe merah keriting)
- 100 gram shallot (Indonesian: bawang merah)
- 3 cloves garlic (Indonesian: bawang putih)
- 2 lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh), white part only
- 2 inch galangal (Indonesian: lengkuas)
Instructions
- Marinate chicken: Start with rubbing the chicken pieces with salt and turmeric. Set aside for 15 minutes.
- Prepare spice paste: Grind garlic, shallot, galangal, red chilies, and the white part of lemongrass in a food processor or with a mortar and a pestle into a smooth paste.
- Fry chicken: Heat about three tablespoons of oil in a wok over medium-high and fry the chicken until the skin is crispy and golden brown. It is okay for the chicken to be not 100% cooked. Set aside.
- Sauté spice paste and lemongrass: In the same wok, fry the spice paste, turmeric, and the green part of lemongrass until fragrant. About 5 minutes.
- Add chicken and the rest of the ingredients: Return fried chicken into the wok, along with coconut milk, tamarind liquid, salt, and coconut palm sugar. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the sauce is very thick and the chicken is tender and cooked.
- Serve: Turn off heat, and serve either with steamed white rice, or nasi uduk (fragrant coconut rice).
Comments
This dish looks unbelievably delicious. Can you please post a few more Indonesian recipe specifically the ones listed here: http://makan-luar.tumblr.com/post/120760058771/tantalize-your-taste-buds-with-indonesian-cuisine . And also the desserts as well. Plus can you tell me where to get ingredient number 5? ("2 lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh), bruised and knotted")
Hi Vanessa, I am going to keep the list in my to-do :) As for lemongrass, I am in the Bay Area, and they are sold fresh in Asian grocery stores like 99 Ranch or Marina. I think I have even spotted a Safeway or two that carry them.
Hi Ci Anita, thank you for posting alot of Indonesian recipes, I have tried your sop buntut recipe and it was perfect! I had recently moved to Bay Area and am wondering where do you usually get your cabe merah keriting as I have never seen one so far. I have only seen Thai chilli at Ranch or Marina.
For cabe merah keriting, I usually just sub with a mixture of Thai red chili and red fresno chili (50% 50%) and it usually works out perfectly.
I recently went to Bali and Gili Air. Everywhere we went we found Cop Chai soup - chicken with vegetables - on the menu. I ate it almost everyday, liking it better than Soto Ayam because of the vegetables. But now that I'm home, I can't find any recipes. Can you help me discover how to make this tasty soup, please? Thank you!
Hi Susan, actually cap cai is a stir fry dish, though some people turn that into a stew/soup. I think this Balinese Garden Stew is what you are looking for. Cheers!
Spelled Cap Cai?
Hi Anita, I tried this on the weekend for friends and it went down a treat! My grandmother was Dutch Indonesian and no one managed to pick up her skills before she passed away. Since then, I have been trying to get my head around Indonesian cooking, and I am slowly building my success. I found your website when I searched for peanut sambal (which I also made), and am so excited to try so many new recipes! Thank you!
Hi Melissa, I am very happy that my blog can help you rediscover Indonesian cooking. Have fun trying out different recipes :)
Sooo glad I came upon your site! I was looking for good sambal ulek and sambal terasi recipes and I shall try yours :-) Then of course I was tempted by the other recipes, like this lemon grass chicken one. Fab! What I like is that you include the Indonesian names for ingredients as well. Best wishes from a Philippine fan!
I have been seeking this recipe for YEARS. My favorite restaurant in Rhode Island makes this, but I've never been able to find anything remotely close to what they make. THANK YOU!!!
I am happy to help then :) I hope it is close to what you had in Rhode Island.
Hi Anita - I made this and it was simply gorgeous! I am in love with your recipes!
Why, thank you :)
I can only find Tamarind concentrate in a jar in the Indian section of my local market. How much should I use of that? Ingredients include tamarind, water, and citric acid. Would it be too sour?
Hi Star, if you are using tamarind concentrate, I would combine 1/2 tablespoon tamarind concentrate + 3.5 tablespoon water to get 4 tablespoon of tamarind juice. It should work and shouldn't be too sour. :)
It doesn't says how much of water is required for this recipe? :)
Hi Ty, we don't use water for this recipe. The liquid from 1 can coconut milk and tamarind liquid (1/2 tablespoon tamarind + 4 tablespoon water) is usually enough. If for some reason the liquid has become dry before the chicken is cooked, then you can try adding 1/4 cup of water, but I don't think I've ever needed to do this.
Wow, this looks so vibrant and flavorful! I also love the little bit of educational info about Indonesian cuisine at the beginning, so cool to get a look into another culture!
This sounds so good and a great change from my usual chicken recipes! Where do you get your tamarind liquid from?
Hi Kelli, I use wet seedless tamarind from Asian market. You can also get a tamarind packet from Amazon. Just scoop out about 1/2 tablespoon of the tamarind from the packet, and mix with 4 tablespoon of water. Mix and massage to release as much of the tamarind into the liquid, then strain and use.
Love all the flavors here, I already know I’m going to enjoy this recipe a lot!
What an incredibly MOUTHWATERING recipe this is! I love how it uses a DIY sambal for extra flavour. Absolutely divine, Anita!
Yummy! This looks so delicious! I can't wait to make this! So excited!
My first attempt at cooking Indonesian cuisine. Love it! The gravy is finger licking good! I actually airfried the chicken instead and used only 200ml of coconut milk top up with some fresh milk for a slightly healthy version. Next time I’m going to try to reduce the coconut palm sugar cos it’s a bit toward the sweet side for me now. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Hi Anita, this dish is very tasty! It will be included in my favorite chicken recipes :) Thanks!
Thank you.. The moment I saw your pics, I knew it will turn out just I want it to be. My daughters loves them.
THE most delicious dish I’ve made in a long time! I longed for something that reminded me and transported me to Bali, this dish delivered big time! Also made nasi uduk betawi to accompany, fragrant and divine!
Hello Anita:) thank you for this delicious recipe. It's excellent and the house smells so good!
I have a question about the oil. I used 8 thighs, bone and skin on, and fried them skin down in 3 Tbs of oil for 5-7 minutes. I found that there was an excessive amount of oil leftover. I poured a little less than half of the oil out and then sauteed the spice paste and continued the rest of the recipe.
When I finished, it seemed to me that there is still a lot of oil. Should I have drained all the oil after frying the chicken, before I sauteed the spice paste? Thank you for your advice, and expertise:))
Hi Leah, sometimes the chicken can be fattier, so it is okay to drain more excess oil should it be necessary. After frying the chicken, I usually remove the oil so it remains at around 3 tablespoons of oil, the same amount as when I start frying the chicken to fry the spices.
If at the end of the cooking time you find there are too much oil to your liking, you can let the finished dish sit in the pot for 5 minutes. The oil should float to the top forming one layer of oil. Then you can use a spoon to gently skim off all the oil.
THE most delicious dish I’ve made in a long time! I longed for something that reminded me and transported me to Bali, this dish delivered big time! Also made nasi uduk betawi to accompany, fragrant and divine!
This recipe is amazing!! Will make again. Instead of salt you can use a little fish sauce to make it a little more salty.
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