Javanese Chicken Curry

Preparation 1. First, make the flavoring paste. Place the chile, shallots, garlic, galangal, ginger, and coriander in a small food processor, and pulse until the coriander is well ground (no visible bits or pieces should remain) and you have a smooth paste the consistency of creamy mashed potatoes. (If the paste will not purée properly, and repeatedly creeps up the side of the food processor instead of grinding, add up to 2 tablespoons of water to it, 1 tablespoon at a time, periodically turning the processor off and scraping the unground portions with a spoon down toward the blade as you go.) Set aside. 2. Rinse the chicken under cold running water and pat it dry with paper towels. If using a whole chicken, for authenticity cut it into 16 pieces. If using precut chicken parts, you can leave them whole. Set aside. 3. Heat the oil in a 3- or 4-quart saucepan, Dutch oven, or soup pot over medium-low heat. Test to see if the oil is the right temperature by adding a pinch of the ground paste. The paste should sizzle slightly around the edges, not fry aggressively or sit motionless. When the oil is the correct temperature, add all the ground flavoring paste and sauté, stirring every 10 seconds or so to prevent sticking and burning, until the paste begins to separate from the oil and the smell of raw garlic and shallots has dissipated, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the cinnamon, tied lemongrass, lime leaves, and daun salam leaves (if using) and stir to combine them with the flavoring paste. Continue sautéing until you can clearly smell the fragrance of cinnamon, about 1 minute. 4. Add the chicken and raise the heat to medium. Sauté the chicken in the flavoring paste, moving it around often with a large spoon or spatula to prevent sticking or scorching. Turn each piece so that it sauts in the oil, until they are evenly golden brown, about 10 minutes. (You need not brown the chicken in two batches — it's fine if the chicken is piled in 2 layers, as long as you adjust the pieces in the pot so they all eventually brown.) 5. Add 1 cup of the unsweetened coconut milk, the water, and the salt to the chicken. Stir well to combine, blending the flavoring paste with the liquids and scraping from the bottom of the pot to bring up all the bits of flavor stuck to the surface, and bring to a low, steady simmer. Let the coconut milk simmer, stirring occasionally, until the fats from the chicken and coconut milk have risen to the surface and the chicken is tender and cooked through, but not falling apart from the bone, 40 to 50 minutes. You may need to lower and raise the heat occasionally if the simmer becomes too aggressive. Be careful to not allow the liquid to boil; the chicken will likely toughen and the coconut milk curdle. Taste for salt, and add more if necessary. 6. Add the additional 1 cup coconut milk and allow it to heat through and begin to take in the flavors of the curry, about 2 minutes. This additional coconut milk enriches this rich dish even more. If there is too much oil floating on the surface of the curry for your taste, feel free to skim some of it off, but by all means not all of it — it's intensely flavorful. Taste for salt once more. 7. Transfer the chicken and sauce to a low serving bowl; you may remove the cinnamon, tied lemongrass, and kaffir lime and daun salam leaves, if you like, or leave them in the bowl to continue to season the dish. Allow the dish to rest and cool at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before eating, which will give the flavors time to blend and intensify. Cook's Notes:• Holland chiles (also called Dutch or finger chiles) are the primary hot pepper used in Indonesian cooking. They are ruby red in color and glossy skinned, with narrow, fingerlike bodies that end in sharp points. They're about four inches long (sometimes longer, but rarely shorter) and a half inch in diameter at their thickest point. They have juicy, sweet-tasting flesh and tight, waxy skin that keeps them from spoiling quickly. Holland chiles vary from mildly hot to scorching, but they lose much of their pungency when cooked. They're available year-round in North America, generally imported from the Netherlands. If you can't find them, you may substitute any fresh red chiles such as Fresno, cherry bells, cayennes, Anaheims, huachinangos, jalapeños, or serranos. • Galangal, a knobby-shaped rhizome (underground stem) related to ginger, is one of Southeast Asia's most beloved aromatics. It has thin, pale-yellow skin punctuated by brown concentric rings and pithy pink shoots erupting from its sides (the shoots should be cut off before the galangal is used, as they don't have much flavor). The flesh inside is creamy white in color and very firm — much firmer than that of ginger. The taste of galangal is pleasantly woodsy, with subtle notes of pine-tree sap. Ground up in flavoring pastes or sliced thinly, it imparts an earthy pungency to countless savory dishes. It is particularly popular in the foods of Java, to which it is native. Look for fresh and frozen galangal in Chinese and Southeast Asian markets, or order it from templeofthai.com. • Kaffir lime leaves, a signature aromatic in Indonesian dishes, come from a short, squat tree native to Southeast Asia. Used fresh and whole (never dried), they lend citrusy undertones to stews, curries, and braises, especially those made with coconut milk. Kaffir lime leaves are easy to identify: Glossy and dark green, they are two-lobed, fat, and oval — they look somewhat like a tiny violin. When a recipe calls for a "whole" kaffir lime leaf, use one with both lobes intact. If the leaf is in two pieces, use two lobes to equal one leaf. Fresh kaffir lime leaves are available at many Southeast Asian specialty markets; frozen ones are tucked away in Chinese and Southeast Asian supermarkets in the freezer compartment, near such other aromatics as frozen galangal and turmeric. They can also be ordered from templeofthai.com. • Daun salam leaves are an indispensable herb in Indonesian cooking, especially in Java, Indonesia, their native place. Added fresh or dried to dishes, they impart a subtle spicy, woodsy flavor that has no counterpart in the West. When fresh, the leaves are dark green and three to four inches long. When dry, they are brittle, crinkly, and a dusty, silvery green color. Both fresh and dried leaves are used interchangeably in Indonesian kitchens. Chinese and Southeast Asian grocery stores sell dried daun salam imported from Indonesia in small plastic bags clearly marked "Daun Salam — Indian Bay Leaves. The leaves can also be ordered from indomart.us. Fresh daun salam leaves are unavailable in North America. Adapted with permission from Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore

Preparation 1. First, make the flavoring paste. Place the chile, shallots, garlic, galangal, ginger, and coriander in a small food processor, and pulse until the coriander is well ground (no visible bits or pieces should remain) and you have a smooth paste the consistency of creamy mashed potatoes. (If the paste will not purée properly, and repeatedly creeps up the side of the food processor instead of grinding, add up to 2 tablespoons of water to it, 1 tablespoon at a time, periodically turning the processor off and scraping the unground portions with a spoon down toward the blade as you go.) Set aside. 2. Rinse the chicken under cold running water and pat it dry with paper towels. If using a whole chicken, for authenticity cut it into 16 pieces. If using precut chicken parts, you can leave them whole. Set aside. 3. Heat the oil in a 3- or 4-quart saucepan, Dutch oven, or soup pot over medium-low heat. Test to see if the oil is the right temperature by adding a pinch of the ground paste. The paste should sizzle slightly around the edges, not fry aggressively or sit motionless. When the oil is the correct temperature, add all the ground flavoring paste and sauté, stirring every 10 seconds or so to prevent sticking and burning, until the paste begins to separate from the oil and the smell of raw garlic and shallots has dissipated, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the cinnamon, tied lemongrass, lime leaves, and daun salam leaves (if using) and stir to combine them with the flavoring paste. Continue sautéing until you can clearly smell the fragrance of cinnamon, about 1 minute. 4. Add the chicken and raise the heat to medium. Sauté the chicken in the flavoring paste, moving it around often with a large spoon or spatula to prevent sticking or scorching. Turn each piece so that it sauts in the oil, until they are evenly golden brown, about 10 minutes. (You need not brown the chicken in two batches — it's fine if the chicken is piled in 2 layers, as long as you adjust the pieces in the pot so they all eventually brown.) 5. Add 1 cup of the unsweetened coconut milk, the water, and the salt to the chicken. Stir well to combine, blending the flavoring paste with the liquids and scraping from the bottom of the pot to bring up all the bits of flavor stuck to the surface, and bring to a low, steady simmer. Let the coconut milk simmer, stirring occasionally, until the fats from the chicken and coconut milk have risen to the surface and the chicken is tender and cooked through, but not falling apart from the bone, 40 to 50 minutes. You may need to lower and raise the heat occasionally if the simmer becomes too aggressive. Be careful to not allow the liquid to boil; the chicken will likely toughen and the coconut milk curdle. Taste for salt, and add more if necessary. 6. Add the additional 1 cup coconut milk and allow it to heat through and begin to take in the flavors of the curry, about 2 minutes. This additional coconut milk enriches this rich dish even more. If there is too much oil floating on the surface of the curry for your taste, feel free to skim some of it off, but by all means not all of it — it's intensely flavorful. Taste for salt once more. 7. Transfer the chicken and sauce to a low serving bowl; you may remove the cinnamon, tied lemongrass, and kaffir lime and daun salam leaves, if you like, or leave them in the bowl to continue to season the dish. Allow the dish to rest and cool at room temperature for at least 20 minutes before eating, which will give the flavors time to blend and intensify. Cook's Notes:• Holland chiles (also called Dutch or finger chiles) are the primary hot pepper used in Indonesian cooking. They are ruby red in color and glossy skinned, with narrow, fingerlike bodies that end in sharp points. They're about four inches long (sometimes longer, but rarely shorter) and a half inch in diameter at their thickest point. They have juicy, sweet-tasting flesh and tight, waxy skin that keeps them from spoiling quickly. Holland chiles vary from mildly hot to scorching, but they lose much of their pungency when cooked. They're available year-round in North America, generally imported from the Netherlands. If you can't find them, you may substitute any fresh red chiles such as Fresno, cherry bells, cayennes, Anaheims, huachinangos, jalapeños, or serranos. • Galangal, a knobby-shaped rhizome (underground stem) related to ginger, is one of Southeast Asia's most beloved aromatics. It has thin, pale-yellow skin punctuated by brown concentric rings and pithy pink shoots erupting from its sides (the shoots should be cut off before the galangal is used, as they don't have much flavor). The flesh inside is creamy white in color and very firm — much firmer than that of ginger. The taste of galangal is pleasantly woodsy, with subtle notes of pine-tree sap. Ground up in flavoring pastes or sliced thinly, it imparts an earthy pungency to countless savory dishes. It is particularly popular in the foods of Java, to which it is native. Look for fresh and frozen galangal in Chinese and Southeast Asian markets, or order it from templeofthai.com. • Kaffir lime leaves, a signature aromatic in Indonesian dishes, come from a short, squat tree native to Southeast Asia. Used fresh and whole (never dried), they lend citrusy undertones to stews, curries, and braises, especially those made with coconut milk. Kaffir lime leaves are easy to identify: Glossy and dark green, they are two-lobed, fat, and oval — they look somewhat like a tiny violin. When a recipe calls for a "whole" kaffir lime leaf, use one with both lobes intact. If the leaf is in two pieces, use two lobes to equal one leaf. Fresh kaffir lime leaves are available at many Southeast Asian specialty markets; frozen ones are tucked away in Chinese and Southeast Asian supermarkets in the freezer compartment, near such other aromatics as frozen galangal and turmeric. They can also be ordered from templeofthai.com. • Daun salam leaves are an indispensable herb in Indonesian cooking, especially in Java, Indonesia, their native place. Added fresh or dried to dishes, they impart a subtle spicy, woodsy flavor that has no counterpart in the West. When fresh, the leaves are dark green and three to four inches long. When dry, they are brittle, crinkly, and a dusty, silvery green color. Both fresh and dried leaves are used interchangeably in Indonesian kitchens. Chinese and Southeast Asian grocery stores sell dried daun salam imported from Indonesia in small plastic bags clearly marked "Daun Salam — Indian Bay Leaves. The leaves can also be ordered from indomart.us. Fresh daun salam leaves are unavailable in North America. Adapted with permission from Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore