Semur Ayam (Chicken in Sweet Soy Sauce) Indonesian recipe

Semur Ayam is an Indonesian home-cooked dish that I grew up with. It is a classic chicken and potatoes combo, stewed in a lovely thick and rich sauce of nutmeg and kecap manis - which is an Indonesian sweet dark soy sauce.

Indonesian food uses a lot of kecap manis, and this dish is no exception. It gives a distinct flavour of sweet with salty undertone, a lovely colour and thick consistency to the dish. I usually stock up on Bango kecap manis whenever I go to Indonesia as they give the most authentic flavour.

Chicken wings are used here because my kids just love wings, but you can use any bone-in chicken parts cut to small pieces. For a wholesome meal, I like to add some hard-boiled eggs and serve with white/brown rice to soak up all the delicious sauce.  😋 A true comfort food indeed!

Semur Ayam (Chicken in Sweet Soy Sauce)

Ingredients:

10 pcs chicken wings - winglets and drumlets separated
2 potatoes - cut into big chunks
5 hard-boiled eggs
5 cloves garlic - minced
5 shallots - minced
1 tbsp. minced ginger
3 tbsp. light soy sauce
5 tbsp. kecap manis (Bango)
½ tsp ground nutmeg
salt
white pepper
½ litre water

Instructions:

1. In a large wok, heat up cooking oil over moderate high heat, toss in garlic, shallots and ginger, cook till fragrant
2. Toss chicken, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg
3. Cook until chicken is browned
4. Add ½ litre water, light soy sauce, kecap manis, and potatoes into the pot and bring to a boil
5. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes until chicken and potatoes are tender
6. Toss in hard-boiled eggs and heat through
7. Serve warm with rice