Ayam Betutu

It's been while since my last post so now I'd like to share a recipe of a very popular festive dish in Bali called "Ayam Betutu". It's a slow-cooked chicken stuffed with a mixture of spices called "base genep", wrapped with a combination of banana leaf and palm tree fibre, and buried underground with hot coal to cook for 4-6 hours. Yes, it sounds very labour intense, but the result is a very moist and soft chicken with the complex flavour of the spices penetrating every part. My version of this dish is a lot easier but with a similar result.


Ayam Betutu

1 whole chicken (weight 1.5 to 2 kg)


For "Betutu" spice:


2 tbs chopped fresh galangal
1 tbs chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 stems lemongrass, chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 shallots
2 kaffir lime leaves
1 red chilli, de-seeded and chopped
2 clove, ground
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 candlenut or macademia nut
a pinch of shrimp paste
1 tbs palm sugar or brown sugar
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tbs vegetable oil


Grind all the ingredients above in a blender until they turn into a paste. Fry the paste for a few minutes until fragrant then marinate the chicken with it. Put the remaining paste inside the cavity of the chicken. Place the chicken in a roasting tin and cover with some foil. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 160 C for 1.5 to 2 hours or until the meat falls off the bones. Serve with steamed rice and steamed kale or spinach.