Ayam rica-rica is one of Indonesian culinary, precisely from Manado, North Sulawesi. The word Rica is derived from the language of Manado which means spicy or chili. Recipes to make ayam rica-rica are diverse, so are the ways of cooking it. The similarities are simply the spicy taste and red color from red chilies. As I choose red chilies and ginger as the main spices for Indonesian spicy chicken, you also could use those ingredients for this recipe. It’s really good.
Ingredients – 500 g Chicken bone in and skin on – 1 small Lemon – 1 medium Tomato chopped – 2 stalks Lemongrass crushed – 2 tbsp cooking oil – 1 cup Water – 1 tsp Brown sugar – 2 Lime leaves thinly sliced – Salt and blackpepper
Spice Paste – 5 Large Red Chillies – 4 cm Ginger – 8 small Shallots – 4 cloves Garlic
Instructions 1. Clean the chicken. Marinate with 1 tsp salt and lemon juice. Let stand for 15 minutes. 2. With food processor or pestle and mortar, grind spice paste ingredients until quite smooth. 3. In a non stick pan sear the chicken with 1 tbsp oil over high heat for 5 minutes per side until the color is golden brown. Set aside. 4. In a same pan sauté spice paste with 1 tbsp oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. 5. Add the chicken, lemongrass, brown sugar, tomato, and water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook and stir occasionally for 5-10 minutes until all of the water almost evaporated. 6. Remove from pan and garnish with lime leaves.