Turmeric coconut chicken with nahm jim jaew

Credit: Danielle Abou Karam

• serves

  4

• prep

  40 minutes

• cook

  20 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken wings

Sticky rice powder

• 100 g glutinous rice powder
• 2 whole pandan leaves, coarsely chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks, chopped
• 20 g galangal, sliced
• 6 makrut lime leaves

Marinade

• 400 g can coconut cream
• 2 stalks lemongrass stalks, white part only, chopped
• 50 g fresh turmeric, pounded
• 2 tbsp dried turmeric
• 5 coriander roots, pounded
• 1 tsp white peppercorns, toasted and ground
• 9 garlic cloves, peeled and pounded
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 50 ml fish sauce
• 1 tbsp best quality palm sugar

Nahm jim jaew

• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 6 small red Asian red shallots, unpeeled
• 10 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 5 birds eye chillies
• 5 tbsp grated palm sugar (or coconut nectar/coconut sugar)
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 5 coriander roots
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 140 ml lime or lemon juice
• 2½ tbsp small, dried chillies, toasted and coarsely ground
• 2 tbsp finely chopped coriander stem and leaf
• 2 tbsp thinly sliced spring onion
• 1 tbsp finely shredded makrut lime leaves

Marinating time: 3 hours

Rice powder roasting time: 5 hours

Instructions

1. For the sticky rice powder, preheat the oven to 120°C. Place all the ingredients on a baking tray and roast, stirring occasionally, for 5 hours or until all the ingredients are very dry. Transfer to a frying pan and shake over high heat for 20 minutes or until golden. Remove from the heat and stand until cool. Blitz in a food processor or blender until a coarse powder forms. Set aside. You can do this ahead of time and keep in an airtight container.
2. Meanwhile, for the marinade, place all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.
3. Place the chicken in a large container, pour over the marinade, toss to coat well, then cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight if time permits.
4. For the nahm jim jaew, preheat a large heavy–based frying pan or wok over high heat. Dry fry the tomatoes, unpeeled shallots, unpeeled garlic and the chillies until the skins have blackened and blistered. Remove from the pan and when cool enough to handle, peel and discard the skins.
5. Place the palm sugar in a saucepan and stir over low heat until melted. Stir in the fish sauce and set aside to cool.
6. Pound the coriander roots in a mortar and pestle, then add the roasted peeled garlic, shallots and chilli in that order until a rough paste forms. Stir in the oyster sauce and fish sauce caramel until well combined. Add the lemon juice, dried chilli powder and 2 tablespoons of the sticky rice powder.
7. To cook the chicken, heat a large chargrill pan over medium-high heat. When very hot, add the marinated chicken wings, then place a heavy–based pan on top to press them down while they cook. Grill for 7–10 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through, drizzling with a little oil as you go.
8. Spoon the nahm jim jaew into a serving bowl, dust with a little extra rice powder and garnish with the coriander, spring onion and makrut. Serve with the turmeric chicken wings.

 

Photography by Danielle Abou Karam.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.