Ayam Woku: Manado Spiced Chicken
A popular dish from Manado, North Sulawesi, ayam woku is a dish of chicken cooked with herbs, spices, and a ton of chillies. In Manado, it is often wrapped in a woka leaf and grilled just before eating.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 40 min
- Yield
- 5 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 medium chicken, cut to pieces
- 1 small lime
- 4 big red chillies, chopped
- 5 bird’s eye chillies
- 8 small shallots, peeled, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
- 3 cm ginger, peeled, chopped
- 2 cm turmeric, peeled, chopped
- 4 candlenuts, chopped
- 1 red tomato, chopped
- 1 lemongrass, bruised, cut to 4 cm pieces
- 4 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 pandanus leaf, cut into 3 cm pieces
- 1 turmeric leaf (optional), cut to small pieces
- 3 stalks spring onions, chopped
- A handful of kemangi leaves (Indonesian basil), use only the leaves.
- Salt to taste
- 200 ml water
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
Instructions
- 1
Wash the chicken thoroughly, and then squeeze the lime and rub the juice all over the chicken. Set aside.
- 2
Blend into a fine paste: big red chillies, bird’s eye chillies, shallots, garlic, turmeric, ginger, candlenuts and tomato.
- 3
In a wok, heat the oil in a medium heat, and then sauté the chilli paste.
- 4
Add the lemongrass, pandan leaves, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric leaves. Fry for another 4 minutes until fragrant.
- 5
Add the chicken pieces, fry for about 2 minutes, then add water.
- 6
Add the salt.
- 7
Cook the chicken in the chili paste over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the chicken is done and the sauce thickens.
- 8
Add the spring onion and basil leaves, cook for around 1 minute and then turn off the heat.
- 9
Transfer the dish to a serving plate.