Ayam kecap () or ayam masak kicap () is an Indonesian Javanese

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated subspecies of the red junglefowl (''Gallus gallus''), originally native to Southeast Asia. It was first domesticated around 8,000 years ago and is now one of the most common and w ...

dish poached or simmered in

sweet soy sauce Sweet soy sauce (; ) is a sweetened aromatic soy sauce, originating in Indonesia, which has a darker color, a viscous syrupy consistency, and a molasses-like flavor due to the generous addition of palm sugar or jaggery. ''Kecap manis'' is widel ...

(''kecap manis'') commonly found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

and

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

History and origin

Fried chicken in sweet soy sauce is a typical chicken dish commonly served across

. It is more precisely of Javanese- Chinese origin. The recipe follows the production of Indonesian ''

kecap manis Sweet soy sauce (; ) is a sweetened aromatic soy sauce, originating in Indonesia, which has a darker color, a viscous syrupy consistency, and a molasses-like flavor due to the generous addition of palm sugar or jaggery. ''Kecap manis'' is widely ...

'' (sweet soy sauce). Historically, soy sauce production is linked to Chinese influence in the archipelago. However, the Indonesian Javanese version of soy sauce is distinguished by a generous addition of thick liquid

palm sugar Palm sugar is a sweetener derived from any variety of palm tree. Palm sugar may be qualified by the type of palm, as in coconut palm sugar. While sugars from different palms may have slightly different compositions, all are processed simila ...

(''gula jawa'') with the consistency of

molasses Molasses () is a viscous byproduct, principally obtained from the refining of sugarcane or sugar beet juice into sugar. Molasses varies in the amount of sugar, the method of extraction, and the age of the plant. Sugarcane molasses is usuall ...

. ''Ayam kecap pedas'' is a spicier version which includes a generous amount of

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

Regional variations

Indonesia

In Indonesia, ''ayam kecap'' consists of pieces of chicken simmered in ''

'' (sweet soy sauce), spiced with

shallot The shallot is a cultivar group of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with '' Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the difference was t ...

or onion, garlic,

ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is an herbaceous perennial that grows annual pseudostems (false stems made of the rolled bases of l ...

, pepper,

leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

and tomato. Other versions may include richer spices, including

nutmeg Nutmeg is the seed, or the ground spice derived from the seed, of several tree species of the genus '' Myristica''; fragrant nutmeg or true nutmeg ('' M. fragrans'') is a dark-leaved evergreen tree cultivated for two spices derived from its fru ...

and

cloves Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or fragrance in consumer products, ...

. In Indonesia, the term ''ayam kecap'' is often interchangeable with ''ayam goreng kecap'' (a variant of '' ayam goreng'' in sweet soy sauce) and '' semur ayam'' (Indonesian sweet soy stew which uses chicken instead of beef). These are all similar—if not almost identical—recipes of chicken cooked in sweet soy sauce. However, recipes for ''semur ayam'' often call for richer spices, such as

clove Cloves are the aromatic flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae, ''Syzygium aromaticum'' (). They are native to the Maluku Islands, or Moluccas, in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavoring, or Aroma compound, fragrance in fin ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus ''Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, biscuits, b ...

and

star anise ''Illicium verum'' (star anise or badian, Chinese star anise, star anise seed, star aniseed and star of anise) is a medium-sized evergreen tree native to South China and northeast Vietnam. Its star-shaped pericarps harvested just before ripen ...

. ''Ayam goreng kecap'' includes thicker sweet soy sauce and is often served with slices of fresh lime or a splash of lime juice. The main difference is probably its water content: although still quite moist, both ''ayam kecap'' and ''ayam goreng kecap'' are usually dryer and use thicker soy sauce compared to ''semur ayam'', which is more watery. ''Ayam kecap'' commonly uses poached chicken cut in pieces, including the bones. A variant called ''ayam panggang kecap'' uses identical sweet soy sauce and spices, but uses boneless chicken fillets that are grilled instead of fried.

Malaysia

The Malay ''ayam masak kicap'' (lit.: "chicken cooked in soy sauce") is different from the Chinese version of

soy sauce chicken Soy sauce chicken is a traditional Cantonese cuisine dish made of chicken cooked with soy sauce. It is considered a ''siu mei'' dish in Hong Kong. Another Cantonese dish, white cut chicken, often served with a salty ginger-onion paste, is mo ...

, as the chicken meat is cut into pieces and mixed with locally distinct spices. Malaysian ''ayam masak kicap'' usually includes spices similar to its Indonesian counterpart. Malaysian-style ''ayam masak kicap'' is usually par-fried first as ''ayam goreng kunyit'' (turmeric fried chicken) before being simmered. It can also include potato in the stew.

References

External links