Ayam Smoor – Indonesian Ketjap Chicken
Ayam Smoor – Indonesian Ketjap Chicken is comfort food at its best—tender chicken simmered in a rich, sweet soy sauce with warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. It’s the kind of dish that fills the kitchen with an irresistible aroma and gets even better the next day. Serve it with steamed rice and a side of sambal for an extra kick!
I have recently signed up as a chef volunteer for the foundation @thuisgekookt , which translates to Homecooked. Via the foundation you get connected with someone in your neighbourhood who needs help for 1 or more nights a week with a warm meal. As soon as I heard about it I signed up and last week I met Martin. I read he liked Asian and spicy food, so I didn’t have to think long about what to make! Indonesian Ketjap chicken, spicy sambal eggs and green beans, homemade sambal badjak and a cucumber and red onion pickle. We had the same for dinner 😉
Also interested in helping out someone in need in your neighbourhood and you always cook a but extra? The check out the Thuisgekookt site! (Only in the Netherlands)
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
✔️ Rich and aromatic – The perfect balance of sweet, savoury and spiced flavours.
✔️ Easy to make – A one-pot wonder that comes together with minimal effort.
✔️ Meal-prep friendly – Tastes even better the next day, making it ideal for batch cooking.
✔️ Authentic Indonesian flavours – Inspired by classic Indonesian home cooking.
The Ayam Smoor recipe is inspired by Vanja avan der Leeden. 🔥
Ayam Smoor - Indondesian Ketjap Chicken
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
Loading...Cook up a storm with Ayam Smoor - Indonesian Ketjap Chicken, a dish that gets better overnight and is comfort food at its best.
Ingredients
- Chicken
- 650 g chicken drumsticks or boneless chicken thighs, left whole
- 3 tbsp ketjap manis
- Juice 1/2 lime
- Pinch of salt
- Boemboe / Spice paste
- 3 shallots, roughly chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, peeled
- 3-4 cm ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
- 3-4 cm laos, peeled and roughly chopped (or 1 tsp powdered laos)
- 1 large tomato, cubed
- 1 red chili, roughly choppped
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- The sauce ingredients
- 5 tbsp ketjap manis
- 1 lemon grass stalk, bruised
- 3 salam leaves (or 3 lime leaves or 1 bay leaf if you can't find it)
- 4 cloves
- Good amount freshly grated nutmeg
- 500 ml chicken stock
- To serve
- Steamed rice
- Pickled onion and cucumber or Atjar
- Stir fried green beans or spicy eggs and green beans for a mini rice table
Instructions
Marinate the chicken and set aside in the fridge while you make your spice paste.
Add all the spice ingredients into a blender, starting with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil an d blend into a smooth paste (you can also use a mortar an pestle, then you can omit the oil). Add more oil if you need to loosen the mixture a bit.
Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a heavy based pot and add the chicken pieces (discard the marinade in the bowl), frying until all sides have browned. You might need to do this in batches so they crisp up and don't steam. Remove from the pan and set aside.
In the same pan, with the oil left behind, add the spice mix and stir fry for at least 5 minutes on medium heat to cook through all the ingredients.
Add the chicken, lemon grass, the salam or lime leaves, cloves and nutmeg. Stir to coat and pour over the chicken stock and the ketjap manis.
Let the chicken stew and simmer on low heat for ± 35 minutes without the lid on the pan.
Taste and season with extra ketjap manis, lime juice, salt and or sambal to your liking.
Serve with steamed rice, some steamed vegetables and pickled cucumber and red onion.
