Braised Kecap Manis Chicken

I bought a small bottle of Kecap Manis from the asian mart last weekend. So far, I had used it for Nasi Goreng (non-spicy version). I knew I could use it for chicken, just that I was not sure how. A google search brought me to the recipe of Braised Sweet Soy Sauce Chicken at PigPig'sCorner. The sweet soy sauce refers to Kecap Manis. I was delighted and decided to give it a try, since it was supposed to be similar to Tau You Bak! The best part of this dish? Put everything into a big pot and let it cook! No frying, no mess!

So here's the soy sauce and bottle of Kecap Manis. I was happy to peel and crush the many cloves of garlic, and then sliced the ginger.

And soaked the chinese mushrooms too.

Reserve that water from soaking the mushrooms.

8 pcs 3-joint Chicken Wings, cut and separated

12 pcs Dried Chinese Mushrooms, soaked

3/4 cup Kecap Manis

3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

1 tsp 5-Spice Powder

1 tsp White Pepper

3 stalks Spring Onions (I omit this as I don't have it at hand)

15 slices Ginger

1 bulb Garlic, Peeled and Crushed

• Cut and separate the drumstick, wings and tips from the chicken pieces.
• Discard the tip.
• Wash and clean the chicken pieces.
• Put them into a big pot.
• Wash the dried chinese mushrooms.
• Soak the dried chinese mushrooms in warm water for about 20 minutes.
• Remove the mushrooms and reserve the water for later use.
• Place all the other ingredients, excluding the water for soaking mushrooms, into the pot.
• Add the mushroom water, enough to cover the all the ingredients in the pot. If you do not have enough mushroom water, add water.
• Give the contents in the pot a quick stir to mix well.
• Leave for at least an hour.
• When ready to cook, bring the pot to a boil.
• Reduce heat and let simmer for an hour to 1.5 hours, or till meat is cooked and tender.

The ingredients were prepared in the morning, while my boys were at school, and left to marinate till the evening. In the evening, as the pot of liquid bubbled away, I was free to supervise my boys in their Chinese homework. After one and a half hour of simmering, the chicken pieces were cooked, and were very tender. Although quite a fair amount of liquid was used to cover the ingredients at the start, half the amount of liquid had evaporated at the end of the one and a half hours. Just enough for us to drizzle the sauce on our rice ... yum yum!

This is such an easy dish to prepare. It is definitely a keeper, and a regular on my dinner table!