Ayam Isi Di Buluh (Spicy Chicken Cooked in Bamboo Tubes)

 

Ayam Isi Di Buluh (Spicy Chicken Cooked in Bamboo Tubes) is a Manadonese (North Sulawesi-Indonesia) dish. Buluh means bamboo in Manadonese. Instead of cooking it in a pot, we put all of the ingredients inside a hollow of a bamboo tube & then cook it slowly in an open fire. This dish uses a lot of spices, but actually it’s very easy to cook. Although it will taste better when it’s cooked inside of the bamboo tubes, but it is also possible & much easier when you first wrap the chicken with banana leaves & then grill/roast them in the oven. The original recipe is very spicy, but U can reduce the amount of chilies depending on your taste.

In Indonesian & English (the English version is below the recipe written in Indonesian)

Bahan

• ½ Ayam-potong 10, 2 sm Air nipis, 2 Jeruk limau, 400 ml Air
• 4 Cabai hijau-iris,4 Bawang putih-haluskan, 50 gr Jahe-parut
• 1 Tomat hijau-potong, 12 Rawit+3 Cabai merah-tumbuk kasar
• 8 Bawang merah-iris halus, 30 helai Kemangi-sobek2, Garam
• 2 Sereh, 3 Daun bawang+2 Pandan+10 Daun jeruk-iris halus
• Minyak, Bambu berdiameter minimal 8 cm/Daun pisang

Cara membuat

• Lumuri ayam dengan air nipis & garam, diamkan 30 menit. Iris halus bagian putih dari sereh, sisanya digeprek.
• Tumis cabai2, bawang2, jahe, & sereh hingga harum dengan api sedang. Masukkan ayam, aduk hingga berubah warna. Beri air, masak sampai mendidih. Kecilkan api, beri garam, daun bawang, pandan, daun jeruk. Masak hingga bumbu meresap & air berkurang (hampir kering), Beri tomat, aduk sebentar, angkat.
• Mskkan ayam ke dlm bambu, bakar dng bara kecil hingga matang. Putar bambu sesekali agar ayam matang merata. Dpt juga dng cara ayam dibungkus dng daun pisang, panggang di oven 175°C selama ± 30-40 menit.
• Keluarkan ayam dari bambu/buka bungkusan daun pisang. Beri air jrk limau & kemangi, aduk rata. Hidangkan ayam bersama nasi putih.

Ingredients

• ½ Chicken-cut into 10, 2 tbsp Lime juice, 50 gr Ginger-grated
• 3 Red chilies & 12 Bird`s eye chilies-coarsely pound, frying Oil
• 10 Kaffir lime leaves+3 Scallions+2 Pandan leaves-thinly sliced
• 8 Shallots-thinly slice, 4 Green chilies-sliced, 400 ml Water
• 2 stalks Lemongrass, 2 Kaffir lime, 1 Green tomato-small cut
• 30 Lemon basil leaves-shredded, 4 Garlic cloves-grind, Salt
• Bamboo tubes-minimal 8 cm in diameter/Banana leaves

Directions

• Rub the chicken pieces with lime juice & enough salt, let it stand for 30 minutes. Thinly sliced the white part of the lemongrass stalks & bruised the rest of it.
• Sauté the chilies, shallots, garlic, ginger & lemongrass until fragrant over medium heat. Stir in chicken, cook until the colour changed. Pour in the water & bring it to a simmer. Turn the heat to low, put in the salt, green onions, pandan & kaffir lime leaves. Cook until the flavour blended & the liquid reduced (almost dry). Stir in tomato. Remove from the heat.
• Put the chicken into the hollow of the bamboo tubes; grill them in an open fire (low flame) until it's cooked. Turn the bamboo tubes over to ensure the chicken cooked evenly. Or you can also just wrap the chicken with banana leaves tightly; then grill/roast at 175°C in the oven for 30-40 minutes.
• Remove the chicken from the bamboo tubes/Unwrapped the banana leaves. Stir in kaffir lime juice & lemon basil leaves. Serve the chicken with steamed white rice.