Crispy Chicken Rendang — Whip It UP!

Crispy Chicken Rendang.  Photos: Lauren’s Kitchen. 

 

By Lauren Tan, Lauren’s Kitchen 

Rendang is never usually served crispy, at least not until a MasterChef UK episode earlier this year where the judges, Gregg Wallace and John Torode, rejected a Malaysian contestant’s chicken rendang dish. Their contention? The chicken skin was not crispy! Amidst the uproar of Asians and fans of rendang alike, Lauren’s Kitchen seized the opportunity, fired up the kitchen to concoct a crispy rendang recipe. Their verdict? Sedap sekali (absolutely tasty)! Rendang, rock on!

Total Time: 1 hour
Cost: S$19.00
Difficulty: 2/5
Servings: 3

 

A: Chicken & Marinade

500g chicken meat,*skin on, cut into large pieces
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon rendang paste, store-bought

1 litre oil

 

B: Flour Mixture

120g plain flour
3 tablespoons cornflour
¼ teaspoon baking powder

500ml water

 

C: Rendang Paste Topping

2 tablespoons oil
150g rendang paste, store-bought
20g palm sugar (gula Melaka), roughly chopped
Salt to taste
250ml coconut milk*, 1st press
80g freshly grated coconut, dry toasted
4-5 kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut)

 

DIRECTIONS:  

1. To marinate chicken:  In a medium mixing bowl, rub salt and rendang paste into the chicken. Allow it to marinate for 20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat up oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.

3. Pour water into a medium bowl. Combine B ingredients in another mixing bowl.

4. Dip chicken pieces into flour mixture one piece at a time – make sure they’re evenly coated.

Coating chicken with flour
Flour coating yields succulent chicken after deep-frying.

 

5. Then dip each piece into a bowl of water briefly, followed by a second coating of flour mixture.

6. Drop chicken gently into oil, piece by piece. Deep fry until light brown. Remove and set it aside briefly.

Frying chicken
When frying chicken, do not overcrowd saucepan. A few pieces at a time allows the chicken to be fried to a crisp.

 

7. Allow oil to heat up again. Fry chicken again, this time, until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and then transfer to a serving plate.

8.  In a second saucepan, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add in rendang paste and cook until fragrant.

 

rendang paste
Cook rendang topping separately.

 

9. Put in palm sugar, stirring all the time until it melts. Add salt to taste.

10. Pour in coconut milk. Stir it in to blend with the paste. Let sauce simmer until it becomes thick, around 10-15 minutes.

 

Rendang paste
Cook rendang topping until thick and aromatic.

 

11.  Toss in toasted coconut followed by kaffir lime leaves. Fold it in until it’s evenly mixed. Using a slotted spoon, spread rendang paste over fried chicken.

Rendang paste topping
Spoon rendang paste over fried chicken,

 

12. Serve immediately.

Rendang coated fried chicken
A surefire winner – spicy, crispy and sedap!

 

*Coconut milk, first press, refers to the concentrated milky extract of coconut meat, which has not been diluted with water. Get it freshly extracted at wet markets. Alternatively, buy at the supermarkets – it’s sold in tetra packs. Some brands sell 2 versions: coconut milk and coconut cream. Opt for coconut cream – it’s similar to the first press of coconut milk.

 

TIP: Keeping chicken skin intact not only keeps meat moist while deep-frying but also adds another layer of crunch that’s sinfully sedap!

Click HERE to view cooking video.

 


LAUREN’S KITCHEN is always a hive of activity. It is Lauren Tan’s playground where she concocts, cooks and produces cooking videos for social media platforms.


Click on www.storm.sg/food for more recipes and reviews of restaurants.


If you have a simple recipe you would like to share, do email it to whipitup@storm.sg

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