Opor Ayam (Opor Chicken)

Ingredients:

• 6-7 chicken drumstick/chicken bite size pieces
• 200ml coconut milk
• 1 stalk lemon grass, bruised
• 3-4 lime leaves (limau purut leaves)
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp sugar

pound very finely together:

• 3-4 red chillies
• 5 sliced galangal (lengkuas)
• 3 sliced ginger
• 4 candle nuts (buah keras)
• 6 shallots
• 3 cloves garlic

add in:

• 4 tsps corainder powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 cup of water

Method:

Over high fire, heat the wok until hot. Pour in 4 tbsp cooking oil, lower fire to a medium heat. Add in the pounded spices and lemongrass. Stir for 2 minutes, add in 5 tbsp coconut milk and simmer for another 2 minutes. Stir continuously for a smooth gravy.

Add in the chicken, the remaining coconut milk and stir fry for another 5 minutes. Finally add in the water, sugar, salt and lime leaves. Bring to boil and then simmer, uncovered, until the chicken is tender. Serve with hot white rice.

Steamed Sago with coconut

Ingredients:

• 250g sago, washed and soaked in water for an hour and drained
• 200g grated young coconut
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 120g sugar
• 1/2 tsp pandan paste or 1 tbsp pandan juice
• few drops of red colouring
• banana leaf, cut into 9" round and lighty greased

Method:

Boil water in steamer over a high heat.

Combine sago, sugar, salt and coconut. Divide into 3 equal portions. Mix one portion with pandan paste or juice, the other with red colouring, leaving one portion plain.

Line the base of a 9" round cake tin with the greased banana leaf. Spread the red sago mixture evenly in the tin and press lightly with a spatula. Place the cake tin in the steamer and steam for 15 minutes until sago is transparent. Add the layer of plain sago to the steamed sago and steam again for nother 15 minutes until the sago is tranparent. Repeat the process with the green portion.

When cooked, remove the tin from the steamer and cool cake completely before cutting into diamond shapes.