First Year @ Bristol: Ayam Putih (White Chicken)

Well, yes, I know. Chicken is white meat, so technically, all chicken dishes are white. But the original version of this dish (by Ibu) was a beautiful sparkling white, hehe. Its a basic chicken stirfry recipe, where the chicken is seasoned and cooked. It was my favorite dish back in Brunei and in my first year in Bristol as well, but its come a long way since then, with a LOT of versions. :P

See, back in my first year, I lived about an hour away from the nearest halal butcher (unlike now, where one is just 5 minutes away, hehe). So every month (sometimes every two months) I would troop all the way to Easton to buy 20 pounds worth of chicken. Since it was so far away, I "rationed" my chicken into small servings, and learnt to make my dishes *very* flavoursome to make up for it. With only about 1/6th of a chicken breast each time, that was absolutely necessary to finish my 1 cup of rice. The only exceptions were Nasi Ayam, and of course, Nasi Goreng Cheese.

But anyway, to achieve my goal of boosting my meagre amounts of chicken, I added various modifications to the original ayam putih recipe. Here's its history ;)

• v1: Chicken with salt
• v2: Chicken with chicken stock powder and a bit of white pepper
• v2a: As with v2, but with some cornflour + water added, to make the juices thicker
  
• v3: As with v2, but fry some sliced shallots before adding the chicken
• v4: See below :D

What you need:
Boneless pieces of chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
4 shallots, sliced finely
2 dried red chillies, sliced
Dried chilli flakes
Salt, chicken stock and white pepper, for seasoning

What you do:

1. Season the chicken with salt, chicken stock and plenty of white pepper. Add the chiili flakes and marinate for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat some oil in a wok and fry the shallots and dried chillies, until shallots are softened and slightly translucent.
3. Add the chicken pieces, and stirfry until cooked through. Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve with white rice.

Ok, thanks to my modifications, the chicken is no longer white, hehe. Or maybe that was because I used drumsticks this time, instead of chicken breasts. Well, whatever the case, its no longer white - but to me, it will always be ayam putih, hehe.

Justin was sceptical on how I could make a good meal out of such basic ingredients, but I think I did quite well. Unfortunately, he went out for dinner tonight, and didn't have a taste. But Hadi liked it. I *really* liked it as well (haven't cooked this in more than a year!) but I found it just a little bit too spicy. Shouldn't have added the chilli flakes, I guess, hehe. But I thought they added a nice splash of colour. ;)

To tell you the truth, I would much prefer Ayam Putih v1, which is elegantly simple, hehe. I have simple tastes in food, and the 1st version is absolutely perfect (for me) but some people do find it a bit too *blah*, haha. But the thing about it is that it is very easily modified (such a basic recipe!) and its so simple to make too! It was perfect for my first year here, scared as I was of cooking at that time, hehe. Now that I've rediscovered it, I'll probably be cooking it a lot more as well! :D

Quote of the day: I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation.