Semur chicken

Every Torres Strait Island family has their own semur chicken recipe – some add vegetables, others add lemongrass or vermicelli noodles but ultimately the goal is a tender chicken dish bathed in a savoury, sweet and salty sauce that tastes like home in every bite. This is performer Jay Wymarra's family version.

Credit: Jiwon Kim

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  25 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp (40 ml) vegetable oil
• 1 kg chicken wings, segmented, parboiled (see Note)
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce)
• 1 cup (250 ml) light soy sauce
• 1 can bamboo shoots, drained (optional)
• 200 g vermicelli glass noodles
• 3 - 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• Blanched broccolini, cooked rice, to serve

Resting time: 5 minutes 

Instructions

1. Heat half the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken in batches and cook, turning occasionally, until golden-brown and a fond (a layer of small particles of browned food) has begun to form on the base of the pan. Remove the chicken to a large bowl.
2. Add the remaining oil to the pan and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until browned, then return the chicken to the pan and cook for a further 4-5 minutes.
3. Add the fish sauce and cook for a further 3 minutes. Stir through the kecap manis and soy sauce, then reduce the heat to medium and cook until the chicken is tender and the sauce thickens. Add the bamboo shoots to the pan (if using).
4. While the chicken simmers, add the vermicelli rice noodles to a heatproof bowl. Pour over boiling water and allow to soak until the noodles are softened. Use kitchen scissors to snip to smaller lengths, then drain and add to the chicken.
5. Reduce the heat to low, then stir the noodles through the sauce for 1-2 minutes, allowing the sauce to soak into the noodles. Remove from the heat, then stir through the crushed garlic. Cover and rest for 5 minutes before serving.
6. Transfer the semur chicken to a large serving bowl. Serve with broccolini and rice on the side.

Notes

• Place the chicken wings in a large saucepan of simmering salted water and cook for 6 minutes to parboil. Drain and use as directed.
• Substitute chicken with firm tofu for a vegetarian alternative.

Photography by Jiwon Kim.

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Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.