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Ayam Sisit Bali - Balinese Shredded Chicken

Name: Ayam Sisit Bali - Balinese Shredded Chicken
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 1 pair of chicken breast (about 700 gram); salt; pepper; all-purpose flour; 4 tablespoon olive oil (or butter); 4 tablespoon olive oil; 4 tablespoon shallot (Indonesian: bawang merah), thinly sliced; 4 cloves garlic (Indonesian: bawang putih), minced; 2-4 tablespoon red chilies, seeded and finely chopped; 2 teaspoon shrimp paste (Indonesian: terasi), toasted and crushed into powder; 2 stalks lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh), white part only, finely chopped; 1 tomato, finely chopped; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (Indonesian: bubuk kunyit); salt and pepper, to taste; 6 kaffir lime leaves, remove ribs and finely chopped; 1 lime (Indonesian: jeruk limo), juice

Last updated: May 20, 2020 — Published: Feb 9, 2015 — By: Anita — 29 comments

Shredded golden pan-fried chicken breast with bold and refreshing spicy Balinese salsa made from chilies, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and toasted shrimp paste.

Ingredients for ayam sisit Bali (Balinese shredded chicken): chicken breast, salt, pepper, all-purpose flour, olive oil, shallot, garlic, red chilies, lemongrass, tomatoes, kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, turmeric, and terasi/belacan/shrimp paste.

Transform simple pan-fried chicken breasts into this lovely ayam sisit Bali (Balinese shredded chicken) with spicy lemongrass salsa (a.k.a Balinese salsa).

Golden pan-fried chicken breast is thinly sliced/shredded and topped with the exquisitely refreshing and spicy salsa made using a mixture of lemongrass, chilies, kaffir lime leaves, toasted shrimp paste, and lime juice among others.

(1) Pan-fried chicken breasts. (2) Thinly sliced/shredded chicken breast. (3) Sauté shallot, garlic, red chilies, lemongrass, tomatoes, turmeric, toasted terasi/belacan/shrimp paste, salt, and pepper. (4) Stir in finely chopped kaffir lime leaves.

Ingredients for this Balinese chicken dish

There are two parts to this dish: thinly sliced/shredded pan-fried chicken, and sautéed spicy lemongrass salsa.

1. Pan-fried chicken

We need skinless boneless chicken breast, salt, pepper, all-purpose flour, and olive oil.

Alternatively, you can use store-bought rotisserie chicken too. Simply shred the chicken into tiny bite-size pieces. You can save time and skip the chicken portion of the recipe.

2. Spicy lemongrass salsa

The bold and refreshing flavor of this dish comes from the spicy lemongrass salsa. To make this salsa, we will need shallot, garlic, red chilies, tomato, lemongrass, terasi/belacan/shrimp paste, turmeric, lime juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Terasi is a fermented shrimp product. It is a very common Indonesian ingredient. If you need a primer on Indonesian shrimp paste, kindly refer to my kangkung tumis terasi recipe.

Thinly sliced/shredded pan-fried chicken breast topped with sautéed lemongrass sauce, and freshly squeezed lime juice.

Step 1: Pan-frying chicken breast

Start with slicing each chicken breast into two halves. Pat dry with kitchen towels, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and lightly dust with all-purpose flour.

Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add olive oil and swirl to coat the pan.

Add chicken breasts into the frying pan. Flip once the part touching the hot pan turns golden brown, around 4-5 minutes. Cook until the other sides are also golden brown, another 3-4 minutes.

Rest the fried chicken for 10 minutes covered with a piece of aluminum foil. Thinly slice with a knife, or use two forks and shred the chicken. Set aside in a large mixing bowl.

Gently toss together chicken pieces with lemongrass sauce and lime juice.

Step 2: Prepare spicy lemongrass salsa

Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Sauté shallot, garlic, red chilies, lemongrass, tomatoes, toasted shrimp paste powder, salt, and pepper until the shallot has slightly wilted, then stir in kaffir lime leaves.

Turn off the heat and transfer the spicy lemongrass salsa into the mixing bowl with thinly shredded/sliced fried chicken, along with lime juice.

Gently toss to coat the chicken evenly with the lemongrass salsa and lime juice.

Serve ayam sisit Bali with steamed white rice.