Cherry & Dennis Recipes
Indonesian Ayam Kecap
印尼甜豉油雞
Recipe overview
Chicken thighs are gently braised with Indonesian sweet soy sauce, shallots, garlic, ginger and tomato. Browning the chicken before simmering keeps the dish recognisably Ayam Kecap rather than generic soy chicken.
01
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 800 g chicken thighs
- 4 piece shallots
- 4 clove garlic
- 20 g ginger
- 2 piece tomato
- 2 stalk spring onion
- 1 piece limes
Seasoning
- 4 tbsp Indonesian sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 200 ml water
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper
- to taste salt
02
Tools
- knife
- cutting board
- kitchen paper
- mixing bowl
- small bowl
- wok
- tongs
- wooden spoon
- measuring cup
- measuring spoons
- serving plate
- food thermometer
03
Steps
Step 1
Inspect the chicken
Thaw the chicken fully in the refrigerator. Do not use it if it smells off, feels slimy or remains icy; do not rinse raw chicken and use a separate board.
Step 2
Dry and portion
Pat the chicken dry and cut into roughly 5 cm pieces. Wash hands, knife and board immediately afterwards.
Step 3
Prepare aromatics
Slice the shallots, mince the garlic, cut ginger into fine strips, quarter the tomatoes and cut spring onion into sections.
Step 4
Mix the sauce
Mix sweet soy sauce, light soy sauce, water and black pepper; leave the salt aside.
Step 5
Heat the wok
Heat the wok over medium heat and add oil; continue when hot but not smoking.
Step 6
Brown the chicken
Brown the chicken in one layer for 4–5 minutes, turning until golden. It is not cooked through yet; move it to a clean plate.
Step 7
Sauté the aromatics
Sauté shallots, garlic and ginger in the same wok for 2 minutes until fragrant without burning.
Step 8
Return chicken and sauce
Return the chicken, pour in the sweet soy mixture, bring to a boil and lower the heat.
Step 9
Braise the chicken
Cover and braise gently for 15 minutes, turning once and keeping the sauce at a quiet simmer.
Step 10
Add tomato
Add tomato and braise for another 5–7 minutes until softened but still holding shape.
Step 11
Check and reduce
The thickest chicken piece must reach 75°C with no pink centre. Uncover and reduce for 2–4 minutes, then taste before adding salt.
Step 12
Finish and serve
Turn off the heat, squeeze over a little lime juice, add spring onion and serve with hot rice.
Common mistakes
- Replacing kecap manis with ordinary soy sauce removes the dish’s defining sweet-soy character.
Tips
Sweet soy sauces vary in saltiness, so adjust salt only at the end.
