_Opor Ayam, Java, Indonesia
Editor's note: This recipe is adapted from James Oseland's book _Cradle of Flavor: Home Cooking from the Spice Islands of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It was originally accompanied by Lemongrass-Scented Coconut Rice and Lemongrass-Shallot Sambal and was part of an article by Oseland on Indonesian cuisine.
A gorgeous coconut-milk curry from Java, Indonesia, perfumed with lemongrass, ginger, cinnamon sticks, and ground coriander. It's one of the benchmark dishes by which Indonesian home cooks are judged. If a young cook's opor ayam is as rich and delicate as it should be, she's well on her way to becoming skilled in the kitchen. The dish is a perfect showcase for a high-quality free-range chicken. A whole one, cut into small, bone-in serving pieces, will yield the best results, though whole chicken parts can be substituted without compromising the dish's taste.
Daun salam leaves, the dried seasoning herb prized in Indonesian cooking, helps give this dish its unique aroma. I've often seen bay leaves listed as a substitute for daun salam in recipe books. While bay leaves have an aggressively mentholated taste, daun salam are subtle, with a faintly foresty flavor. The only thing the two herbs share in common is that they are both green leaves that grow on trees. Omit daun salam leaves if you're unable to find them.
• 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.
