A vintage nonya-style soyabean-based chicken stew with mushrooms and taters. An aromatic and savoury dish, popular in Singapore Malaysia, that is normally offered during festive season and celebrations.
Ingredients:
1 kg chicken i.e. whole chicken or chicken legs, to become skinned and reduce portions
200 g shallots, to become peeled and sliced (original recipe uses 500 g however i used less as my boy hates them)
3 pips garlic clove, to become peeled and sliced (original recipe uses 100 g)
2 tablespoons of fermented soybean paste (taucheo)
2 tablespoons of thick soy sauce
5 computers dried mushrooms, to become drenched until soft (to become left whole or sliced)
4 large taters, to become peeled and quartered
400 ml water
salt to taste
2 teaspoon palm sugar/brown sugar (optional)
5 tablespoons of oil
a couple of sprigs of coriander leaves
Method:
Rub 1/2 teaspoon salt on chicken pieces and then leave aside. Pound shallots and garlic clove together.
Inside a pot, heat oil. Add pounded ingredients and stir-fry for around 12 to fifteen minutes. Then, add soybean paste and stir-fry until aromatic. Add chicken and mushrooms. Stir well.
Add enough water, thick soy sauce, palm sugar (if using) and taters. Provide a small boil and set on lid. Prepare for around twenty to thirty minutes or until both taters and chicken are tender. The gravy can get thicker because of the quantity of shallots. Check seasonings again.
Note: I made use of only 200 g shallots and also the gravy wasn't thick enough. So, I added a combination of 1 tablespoons of of cornflour combined with 2 tablespoons of water to thicken the gravy. Only for information, Peranakans don't use any starch within their cooking and i'm not really a Peranakan.
Serve garnished with coriander leaves.
2 comments:
use about 400-500gm of shallots will thicken the gravy. cut the potato same size because the cut chicken. prepare together. the potato and also the chicken have a similar cooking timing. area of the taters will thicken the gravy if this 'melted' within the gravy. Peranakans don't use starch within their cooking. -)
Thanks Jemmy for that clarification. My original recipes uses 500 g shallots however i used less shallots this time around as my boy hates them. Will prove to add your method into my recipe too.