Ingredients
Chicken
- 1.2 kgchicken pieces on the bone
- juice of 2 limes
- 1 tspsalt
Rica paste
- 20to 40 bird’s eye chillies, to taste
- 8red chillies
- 10shallots
- 6 clovesgarlic
- 4cm ginger
- 3 stalkslemongrass, bruised
- 2tomatoes
Also
- 4 tbspoil
- 6kaffir lime leaves
- 2salam leaves
- 1 stalklemongrass, extra
- 1 tspsugar
- 200 mlwater
- salt
To finish
- chopped spring onion
- kemangi, lemon basil, if you can find it
- extra lime
To serve
- steamed rice, and plenty of it
Directions
- Reduce the quantity to what you can actually eat, and understand that a mild rica-rica is a fundamentally different dish. Wear gloves when handling this many chillies, and keep your hands away from your eyes for some hours afterwards.
- Pound or blend the chillies, shallots, garlic, ginger and tomato into a coarse paste. A rica paste is traditionally coarser than most Indonesian rempah, with visible texture rather than a smooth purée.
- Pound it in a stone mortar if you can, which crushes rather than shreds. Rub the chicken with lime juice and salt and leave it for fifteen minutes. Brown the chicken pieces in oil until golden, then set them aside.
- Fry the paste in the same oil over a medium heat for fifteen to twenty minutes. Fry it until it darkens and the oil separates and pools at the edges. That separation, pecah minyak, is the signal it is ready, and an underfried paste tastes harsh and raw.
- Stir it often, since a thick chilli paste catches readily. Add the bruised lemongrass, lime leaves and salam leaves. Tear the lime leaves rather than cutting them, which releases far more aroma.
- Return the chicken, add the water and a little sugar, and simmer for thirty minutes. Turn the pieces occasionally so they colour evenly in the paste. Let it reduce until the paste clings to the chicken rather than sitting as a sauce. Rica-rica should be a thick coating, glossy and dark red, not a soupy curry.
- Cook off any excess liquid at the end over a higher heat. A small amount of sugar rounds the dish without making it sweet, and it takes the raw edge off the chilli.
- Season it firmly with plenty of salt. Scatter spring onion and lemon basil over off the heat. Squeeze extra lime over just before serving, which lifts the whole dish. Serve it with a great deal of steamed rice, which is what makes the heat bearable.
Technique
- Rica means chilli, and the doubled name indicates a great deal of it.
- It contains no candlenut, coriander or shrimp paste, unlike most Indonesian pastes.
- It is genuinely painfully hot and is intended to be.
Substitutions
- Fewer bird’s eye chillies and more large red ones, for a manageable heat.
- Thai basil in place of kemangi.
Variations
- Ikan rica-rica, made with fish.
- Udang rica-rica, made with prawns.
- Made with pork, which is common in Minahasa.
History
Manado dish from North Sulawesi, where rica means chilli; Minahasan cooking is the spiciest in Indonesia.
Frequently asked questions
What is Ayam Rica-Rica?
Ayam Rica-Rica is a main from Indonesia: chicken cooked with pounded bird’s eye chilli, ginger and lime leaf, searingly hot. Manado dish from North Sulawesi, where rica means chilli; Minahasan cooking is the spiciest in Indonesia.
How long does Ayam Rica-Rica take to make?
Ayam Rica-Rica takes 25 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Ayam Rica-Rica?
Yes, within limits. Fewer bird’s eye chillies and more large red ones, for a manageable heat. Thai basil in place of kemangi.
What is the most important thing to get right in Ayam Rica-Rica?
Pound or blend the chillies, shallots, garlic, ginger and tomato into a coarse paste. A rica paste is traditionally coarser than most Indonesian rempah, with visible texture rather than a smooth purée.
