Home > Ayam Suwir Pedas (Spicy Shredded Chicken)

Ayam Suwir Pedas (Spicy Shredded Chicken)

Posting Date: 05/03/20

Ayam Suwir Pedas (Spicy Shredded Chicken) is full of flavor (spicy, sweet, salty, and tart). There are so many versions of this dish in Indonesia. In Bali, the version of the dish is called Ayam Suwir Bali or Sisit Bali and can be found everywhere in Bali. The one from Bali normally uses shrimp paste. My version doesn't use shrimp paste and is spicy but you can make it less spicy by using less chili pepper.

In Indonesia, ayam suwir is served with warm rice and other dishes, such as Ayam Goreng (Fried Chicken), fried tempeh, Opor Ayam (Javanese Chicken in Coconut Milk), etc. It tastes so good with the rice because it soaks the flavor of the spices from the chicken. I normally serve it with slices cucumber which adds freshness, slices of omelette, and shrimp chips if I happen to have them at home. I also sprinkle the chicken with minced fresh cilantro or parsley to add the freshness to the chicken.

If you have leftover roasted chicken, you can use it instead. It will not make it taste bad. The seasoning on the roasted chicken will even add more flavor to the dish and it is a good way to use leftover.

The recipe serves 2 people if it is served by itself and 3 people if it is served with other dishes.

Ingredients:

300 grams chicken breast
For spice paste: 3 small or 1 large size shallots, quartered
For spice paste: 3 cloves of garlic, halved
For spice paste: 1.5 tablespoons sambal oelek. You can substitute sambal oelek with 2 jalapeno peppers or 1.5 tablespoons of red chili pepper flakes. The 1.5 tablespoons sambal oelek makes the dish medium heat. If you have low tolerance to heat, reduce it to 1 tablespoon to make it mild or 0.5 tablespoon to make it almost without heat. However, if you like it very hot, use 2 tablespoons of sambal oelek.
For spice paste: 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil. I use coconut oil but you can use regular vegetable oil.
2 lemongrass, white part smashed with the back of the knife to release the oil during cooking and green part discarded
1" fresh ginger, peeled and roughly sliced. Do not slice too small since we want to easily find the slices to discard after cooking.
4 bay leaves
3 kaffir lime leaves. You can find them in the fridge or freezer of Asian stores. Some Asian stores may even put it in the fresh produce section. If you cannot find them, substitute with 1 teaspoon lime zests.
50 ml coconut milk
2 tablespoons chicken broth. I reserve the liquid used to cook the chicken for the chicken broth.
2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate. You can buy it in Asian store. If you cannot find it, substitute with 1 teaspoon lime juice or to taste.
1 tablespoon palm sugar or to taste. You can substitute with brown sugar.
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper or to taste
warm cooked rice
lime wedges
Optional: minced fresh parsley or cilantro
Optional: slices of cucumber
Optional: shrimp chips

Methods:

Place chicken breast in a pot. Add water to fully submerge the chicken. Heat the pot over high heat. Cook until the chicken is fully cooked (about 30 min). Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove it from the pot and set it aside to cool down. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the liquid since it will be used to cook the chicken later. I normally reserve the entire liquid after skimming the fat on top of the liquid and use it as chicken broth that can be used to cook rice and make soup, etc. Once the chicken is cool to handle, shred the chicken.
While cooking the chicken, place the spice paste ingredients (shallots, garlic, sambal oelek and turmeric powder) into a food processor. Process until it becomes smooth paste.
Add 1.5 tablespoons vegetable oil into a pan. Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add spice paste, ginger, and lemongrass into the pan. Saute until it becomes fragrant. Add shredded chicken, bay leaves, and kaffir lime leaves and stir fry the chicken until it is coated with the spice paste. Add coconut milk, chicken broth, tamarind concentrate, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir to coat the chicken with the liquid. Taste it and add more seasoning if needed. Cook until all the liquid has dried up. Remove from the heat. Discard the ginger, lemongrass, bay leaves, and kaffir lime leaves.
Serve it with warm rice and lime wedges on the side. If preferred, top the chicken with minced parsley or cilantro. Serve with cucumber slices and shrimp chips. I sometimes serve it with fried egg or slices of omelette.

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