Balinese Street Food III

I got a special request the other day from my wife, Clare to cook one of her many favourite Balinese foods. We call it "Ayam Goreng Lalapan"; ayam goreng means fried chicken and lalapan means accompaniments. So basically it's a spicy deep fried chicken accompanied by some spicy tomato sauce (Sambal), yet another spicy Balinese salad and some steamed rice. Yes I mentioned a lot of spicy words here but don't be put off by it because you could always use less chilli to adjust to your own taste. I'm Balinese but to be honest I can't handle hot food as much as Clare can - I really trained her well. As I mentioned above the chicken in this dish should be deep fried until crispy but in this recipe I roasted the chicken instead, and the result was as good as deep frying but less greasy. I didn't put the recipe for the steamed rice as you can check it out on my fried rice recipe. As I have mentioned in my previous posts, the less well-known ingredients in this recipe, such as shrimp paste (fermented ground shrimp) and kaffir lime leaves, are widely available at your local Asian or Chinese supermarket.


Crispy Spicy Chicken Legs with Spicy Green Bean and Beansprout Salad and Spicy Tomato Sauce (Sambal).

Ingredients:

2 medium sized chicken legs

For the spice paste:

2 cloves garlic

1 shallot

2 inches lemongrass, chopped

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 candlenut or macadamia nut

half of red chilli

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbs coconut milk

salt and pepper

Crush all the spice paste ingredients in a blender or a food processor with a tablespoon of vegetable oil and then rub the mixture onto the chicken legs. Simmer the chicken legs in a pan on a medium heat with 150ml of water for about 20 minutes. After that continue to cook the chicken legs in a preheated oven at 180C in a roasting tin for about 20 minutes or until the skin is golden brown and crispy. While the chicken is cooking you can start preparing the other components of the dish.

"Sambal"

For the "Sambal":

3 medium sized tomatoes

1 fat clove garlic

1 shallot

1 red chilli, less if you prefer it mild

1 kaffir lime leaf

1/4 tsp shrimp paste 
1 tsp brown sugar

salt

Blanch the tomatoes, chilli, garlic and shallot in boiling water for 3 minutes and then put in a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend until it turns into a chunky paste. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a sauce pan and cook the sambal on a mediun heat for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent from sticking.

For the spicy salad:
a handful beansprouts
100g green beans, chopped

3 shallots, finely sliced
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
1/2 chilli, finely sliced
a pinch shrimp paste (optional)
75g fresh coconut, shredded and dry toasted in a frying pan
2 fresh kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp lime juice
salt and pepper


Blanch the green beans and the beansprouts for about 3 minutes in a pan of boiling water, after that refresh in cold water, drain and set aside in a bowl. Fry the sliced shallot, garlic, chilli and shrimp paste (if using) in a pan with hot oil until crispy. Add the fried shallot mixture into the bowl of boiled green beans and beansprouts together with the toasted fresh coconut, thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves, lime juice, salt and pepper and toss with your hand until properly mixed.


Serve the crispy chicken legs on top of the spicy green bean and beansprout salad, a portion of warm steamed rice, a blob of the "sambal" and some "kecap manis" (Indonesian style sweet soy sauce) on the side. Eat while it's still hot.