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Recently, there was a huge rendang controversy caused by Master Chef UK judges who said that chicken rendang should have crispy skin, which enraged the entire country of Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia and the incident turned into a social media warfare.
As a Malaysia food blogger, I wanted to tell you that chicken rendang, or any rendang, for example: beef rendang, lamb rendang should never have crispy skin. And the rendang sauce should be on the skin!
Here I have just the perfect chicken rendang recipe for you. Rendang originated from Indonesia but they are very popular and well loved by many in Malaysia.
Chicken rendang is slow cooked and stewed in the rendang sauce and my chicken rendang recipe yields flavorful and tender chicken, with complex structure of flavors, with the intense aroma of the exotic spices.
I love making chicken rendang at home. While it takes some time to prep and make the dish, the end result is so rewarding.
When I sink my teeth into the chicken, the taste immediately transports me back to Malaysia, my home country. Enjoy!
How Many Calories per Serving?
This recipe is only 383 calories per serving.
What Dishes to Serve with This Recipe?
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Chicken Rendang
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless and skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into cubes
- 1/3 cup cooking oil
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 cloves
- 3 star anise
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 lemongrass (white part only, pounded and cut into strips)
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 cup water
- 5 kaffir lime leaves (bruised)
- 5 tablespoons toasted grated coconut (kerisik)
- 1 tablespoon sugar or to taste
- salt to taste
Spice Paste:
- 6 shallots
- 1 inch galangal
- 3 stalks lemongrass (white part only)
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1- inch piece ginger (peeled)
- 10 dried chilies (chili arbol, seeded)
Instructions
- All all the ingredients of the Spice Paste in a food processor. Blend well.
- Heat the oil in a skillet, add the Spice Paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom pods and stir-fry them until aromatic. Add the chicken and lemongrass, stir to combine well with the spices.
- Add the coconut milk, water, and simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently until the chicken is almost cooked.
- Add the kaffir lime leaves, toasted coconut, stir to blend well with the chicken. Lower the heat to low, cover the lid, and slowly simmer for 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender and the liquid has dried up. Add more sugar and salt to taste to taste. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Fabulous recipe! – had all ingredients except arbol chilies, so I substituted 4 Thai bird chilies and three Szechuan chilies. Heat was about right ( maybe a little hot) and great complex layers of flavors. Used only 3/4 C water and still was too watery and had to cook it down a lot.
– But… where do you get that red deep color from? – even 10 arbols wouldn’t do that with all the coconut cream and other ingredients.
The spice paste and other ingredients in the skillet make this carmalized look and deep color. Let chicken sit for a little before turning/stiring.
I always failed cooking chicken rendang cuz my chicken always broken into small pieces. I’m using chicken thigh and breast. Especially the breast it’s all like shredded chicken. Please advise on what went wrongly.
Try slightly larger cut pieces and make sure the chicken is cooked well before simmering.