Semur Ayam (Chicken Stew in Sweet Soy Sauce)

Semur /se-mur/ is an Indonesian dish made from boiled meat or chicken in thick brown gravy which made from sweet soy sauce.  The word ‘semur’ itself derives from the Dutch word ‘smoor’  meaning ‘smothered’ or  it could also mean the technique of cooking by boiling for a long time using a low heat until the meat is tender.  Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch over three centuries, so there-are many Dutch-derived words in bahasa Indonesia.  The chicken stew here is smothered in sweet soy sauce, which later gives the distinctive dark color. In other word, sweet soy sauce is a must-add ingredient.

In Indonesia, soy sauce is known as kecap (also ketjap), which is a catch-all term for fermented sauces. It’s used either within cooking process or as condiment. They are 3 varieties of Indonesian soy-based kecap.  (1) Kecap asin (salty soy sauce), which is very similar to Chinese light soy sauce, but usually somewhat thicker and has a stronger flavor.  (2) Kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), which has a thick,almost syrupy consistency and a unique, pronounced, sweet somewhat treacle-like flavor due to the generous addition of palm sugar.  (3) Kecap manis sedang (medium sweet soy sauce), which has less thick consistency, less sweet, and has a saltier taste than kecap manis.   The term kecap is also used to describe other non soy-based sauces, such as kecap ikan (fish sauce) and kecap inggris (Worcestershire sauce).

Sweet soy sauce or kecap manis is probably the most commonly used and well-liked Indonesian food condiment.  It is an important sauce in Indonesian signature dishes, such as nasi goreng (fried rice), mie goreng (fried noddles), satay, and meat or chicken stew. When you see kecap in Indonesian recipes, or when someone asks for kecap in Indonesia, they will always mean kecap manis. The sauce can be found easily in Asian grocery stores.  However,  if you can’t find sweet soy sauce everywhere, you can use regular soy sauce and then add some palm sugar or dark muscovado sugar.

Semur Ayam (Chicken Stew in Sweet Soy Sauce)

For recipe in Indonesian, click HERE

Ingredients:

·         1 chicken, cut into 8-10 pieces (I use chicken wings)

·         ½ tsp lime juice

·         1 tsp salt

·         ½ tsp ground black pepper

·         3 potatoes (about 300g), peeled and cut into small wedges

·         1 small onion, thinly sliced

·         1 liter of water

·         150 ml sweet soy sauce

·         1 lemongrass, bruised and knotted

·         2 inch galangal

·         1 tsp ground nutmeg

·         ½ tbsp ground white pepper

·         1 tbsp sugar

·         3 tsp salt

·         Oil for frying

Grind the following into spice paste:

·         12 Shallots

·         8 cloves garlic

·         8 candlenuts

·         4 tsp coriander

·         1 inch ginger

Garnish:

·         Deep fried shallot flakes

Directions:

1.       Marinate the chicken with lime juice, salt and pepper. Let stand for 15 minutes.

2.       Fry the chicken in the heated oil over medium heat until lightly golden brown. Remove and drain. Do the same for potato wedges.

3.       Saute grinded spices with lemongrass and galangal until fragrant.

4.       Add fried chicken pieces, stir until well coated. Add water, sweet soy sauce, salt, white pepper, and ground nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Add potatoes and onion. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken are cooked and tender and the sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Adjust with salt and sugar as needed.

5.       Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with shallot flakes.  Serve immediately with steamed white rice.

Bahasa Indonesia

Bahan:

·         1 ekor ayam, potong 8-10 bagian (saya menggunakan sayap ayam)

·         ½ sdt air perasan jeruk nipis

·         1 sdt garam

·         ½ sdt merica hitam

·         3 buah kentang (sekitar 300g), kupas dan potong menjadi beberapa bagian

·         1 buah bawang bombay, iris tipis

·         1 liter air

·         150 ml kecap manis

·         1 serai, memarkan

·         2 inch lengkuas, memarkan

·         1 sdt pala bubuk

·         ½ sdm merica bubuk

·         1 sdm gula pasir (optional)

·         3 sdt garam

·         Minyak untuk menggoreng

Bumbu halus:

·         12 butir bawang merah

·         8 siung bawang putih

·         8 butir kemiri

·         4 sdt ketumbar

·         1 inch jahe

Bahan taburan:

·         Bawang goreng

Cara:

1.       Lumuri  ayam dengan sedikit garam dan merica. Diamkan 15 menit.

2.       Goreng  ayam di dalam m inyak yang sudah dipanaskan di atas api sedang hingga berwarna kuning kecoklatan. Angkat dan tiriskan. Lakukan hal yang sama untuk kentang.

3.       Tumis bumbu halus serta serai dan lengkuas hingga harum.

4.       Masukkan potongan ayam yang sudah digoreng. Aduk sampai terbalut dengan bumbu.  Masukkan bawang bombay. Tuang air,  tambahkan kecap manis, garam. gula, merica, dan bubuk pala. Terakhir masukkan kentang yang sudah digoreng.  Masak dengan api kecil hingga bumbu meresap dan kuahnya mengental. Tambahkan gula dan garam bila perlu.

5.       Taburi dengan bawang goreng dan sajikan.