Feral Cooks

Good food shouldn't be tame

You are here: Home / Chicken / Ayam Lemak Puteh (Coconut Gravy Chicken)

Ayam Lemak Puteh (Coconut Gravy Chicken)

January 22, 2021 By Karl Leave a Comment

This is an unusual and delicious curry-like dish from Singapore Cooking, by Terry Tan and Christopher Tan. It’s one of many from the book that I’ll be trying over the upcoming weeks. Hope you like SE Asian food!

The dish is a bit unusual to me because of the spices used—it almost seems more like an Indian-based recipe than something from Malaysia. I guess, though, that there was, and is, a lot of intermingling of different flavors of that wide-ranging region.

There’s no real trick to this. It’s easy easy easy. Just make it as written, then enjoy! 

What you’ll need for the spice paste:

  • 1 small onion (or the equivalent amount of shallots)
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 5 slices galangal root (found at your local asian store)
  • 2T ground coriander
  • 1T ground cumin
  • 1t ground fennel
  • 0.5t white pepper

What you’ll need for the chicken:

  • 2 lbs chicken (thighs are best, or you can cut up a whole chicken)
  • 1t salt
  • 4T oil (this seems too much—I used 2T to good effect)
  • 2.5 cups coconut milk
  • 100 ml water (about 0.33 cups + about a tablespoon or so)
  • 2 stalks lemongrass, outer layers removed (I didn’t have any, so I used a couple of lime leaves)
  • 1T fish sauce
  • Juice of 1 lime (about 2T from a bottle)

What to do:

If using a whole chicken, cut it into 8 pieces and rub them all over with salt.

Grind all the spice paste ingredients together with a mortar and pestle or food processor. 

Bruise the lemongrass and tie it into a knot, then set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok (or large, high-sided frypan) over medium heat and fry the spice paste until thick and fragrant—stirring the entire time. Add 2T of the coconut milk and stir fry for a couple of more minutes.

Add the remaining coconut milk, water, lemongrass and fish sauce, then bring it to a low boil. Add the chicken, then simmer until the chicken is cooked through and tender—about 30-45 minutes. 

Stir in the lime juice before serving over Asian noodles or rice.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • Click to print (Opens in new window) Print

Related

Filed Under: Chicken, Gluten Free, Indian, Indonesian, Low carb/Low GI/Low GL

« Basic Pot Roast
Bánh Mì »

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Feral Cooks was developed by Karl and Philip, two expats who were introduced to each other by their wives while living in Japan.  Learn more →

Recent Posts

  • Fried King Oyster Mushroom Medallions
  • Singaporean Lemon Chicken
  • Veggies and Ricotta
  • Bacon-wrapped Pork Tenderloin
  • Goguma Mattang (Korean Candied Sweet Potatoes)

Categories

  • Appetizers & cheese (186)
  • Baked goods (87)
  • Beef (51)
  • Beverages (11)
  • Chicken (85)
  • Cooking tools (14)
  • Dessert (83)
  • Eggs (30)
  • Gluten Free (267)
  • Indian (32)
  • Indonesian (27)
  • Ingredients (24)
  • Italian (41)
  • Japanese (53)
  • Lamb (6)
  • Low carb/Low GI/Low GL (235)
  • Mexican (7)
  • Misc. (31)
  • Pasta (34)
  • Pizza (19)
  • Pork (128)
  • Pressure cooker (6)
  • Restaurants & Delis (3)
  • Seafood (29)
  • Soup (16)
  • Thai (56)
  • Tofu (13)
  • Uncategorized (11)
  • Vegan (103)
  • Vegetarian (249)
  • Vietnamese (20)

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016

© 2025 - Feral Cooks - All Rights Reserved