Ayam Goreng Kremes Recipe (Indonesian Fried Chicken with Crunchy Flakes)

Ayam Goreng Kremes is popular across the country.  Ny Suharti (or Mrs. Suharti in English) is a famous fried chicken chain restaurant  in Indonesia that offers ayam goreng kremes as the main menu.

Beside ayam goreng kuning (Indonesian yelllow fried chicken), ayam goreng kremes is  another Indonesian Fried Chicken that I grew up with.  Just like Ayam Goreng Kuning (Indonesian yellow fried chicken), the process of making ayam goreng kremes is a bit tiring, but the result is more flavourful.

The key  of flavourful fried chicken is boiling chicken with ground spices in advance before frying.  The boiling process is done once chicken is completely cooked and spices are absorbed.  The leftover stock from boiling the chicken is used to make crunchy flakes.  We love enjoying our fried chicken with sambal bajak (Javanese sambal) that has a hint of terasi or belachan and raw or blanched vegetables to company with.  But don’t forget the warm steamed rice.  I truly enjoy the crunchy flakes just only with steamed rice and sambal.  One thing that I enjoy as well is the crispy fried salam leaves.  The reason why I love to add more salam leaves for this recipe.

You may notice salam (Indonesian bay) leaves and candlenuts often include in Indonesian recipes especially the Javanese food. Candlenuts (or known by the Hawaiian as kukui nuts) can be substituted for macadamia nuts. Indonesian bay or salam leaves have a distinct flavour compare to the regular bay leaves, so if you don’t have them don’t bother to substitute for.

This recipe is my October’s entry for IFP (Indonesian Food Party) which initiated by Tabong (that’s what I call for Tata) and Momon. This party is open to anybody who loves and enjoys Indonesian foods (note: you don’t have to be an Indonesian nor have ability to speak bahasa Indonesia to participate).

Ayam Goreng Kremes
Indonesian Fried Chicken with Crunchy Flakes

Ingredients:
1 whole free range chicken (about 1 kg, 2.2 lbs), cut into 6-8 pieces and wash throughly
2 key limes or 1 lime
10 garlic cloves
10 shallots
6 candlenuts
2 tablespoons ground toasted coriander seeds
1/2 tablespoons salt
400 milliliter pure coconut water (this is special for cooking so no sugar added)
200 milliliter water
10 salam (Indonesian bay) leaves

For Kremes (Crunchy Flakes):
4 tablespoons fried garlic ready to use
250 milliliter chicken broth, a leftover from boiling chicken with spices
250 milliliter water
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup organic brown rice flour (you can always use regular rice flour)
1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper

oil for deep-frying

Methods:
1. Grind candlenuts, shallot and garlic into a paste. Traditionally this process uses a mortar and pestle. However, my food processor did the job faster.

2. In a pot, combine chicken pieces, freshly squeezed key lime juice, spice paste, ground toasted coriander seeds, pure coconut water, water and salam leaves.

3. Cook over medium heat about 20-30 minutes or until the liquid is about 250 milliliter left.

4. Remove chicken from the pot, set aside and deep fry until golden brown on each side. Place on a brown paper to absorb the oil. You can also use a broil method if you want to reduce the oil consumption.

Kremes (Crunchy Flakes):
1. Grind the fried garlic, then combine it with rice flour, ground white pepper and salt. In a big bowl, add leftover chicken broth, water and beaten egg; whisk. Add rice flour mixtures in to a chicken broth mixture and whisk.

2. Using a ladle, add 1 ladle of kremes mixture into a fryer or wok and fry the kremes over high heat. Remove from fryer with a strainer and place on a brown paper to absorb the oil. Only do one ladle each time and repeat this step until all kremes mixture is used up.

Serve fried chicken over kremes with sides of sambal bajak (Javanese sambal) or sambal terasi and raw or blanched/boiled vegetables.

Cook’s Note:
* If there is no pure coconut water just use water.
* Fried garlic can be bought at any Asian stores.
* Candlenuts can be substituted for macadamia nuts.