Ungkep for A Flavor-Packed Ayam Goreng (or Tempe/Tahu Goreng)
Many words are just not translatable - including Ungkep. It’s the best way to make FINGER LICKING GOOD fried chicken, tempe, tofu, even catfish. Recipe below, easily adjusted for vegans.
This is the monthly edition of Dapur Saraswati — a newsletter from Prinka Saraswati. This newsletter includes a recipe for Ayam and Tempe Ungkep, available in English and Indonesian. For more details of this recipe, tap here to see the video on Instagram reels . If you like it and want more like it in your inbox, consider subscribing. Read last month’s newsletter about Movement here.
Ungkep stands on its own. It’s neither simmering nor poaching. It’s a technique that goes beyond tendering a protein as it inquires the steam to cook the upper part of the protein and bumbu ungkep, the ground spice mixture, to seep into every pore of the chicken, tofu, tempe, catfish (lele), and even king oyster mushroom. The last one is my favorite to ungkep! Too bad it’s way too expensive here in Casablanca, where I live.
Ayam Goreng Ungkep with Oseng Bayam-Wortel (with a hint of lime juice to balance the spice-packed Ayam Goreng) and Sambal.
When you’re cooking using this technique, keep in mind that it takes some time. But it yields great satisfaction when you bite into that tender, juicy, and flavorful tempe or chicken. If you allow me to describe Ungkep technique in English, it would be simmering until most of the liquid dissolves. There are two endings for this technique. The first one is to take out all of the protein (chicken if you’re using it, or tempe, or king oyster mushroom), then you add a cup of water or 250 ml of water to the remaining bumbu ungkep in the pot, two handfuls of kemangi or lemon basil, and add the protein back into the pot. Last step, you cook it for 5 to 7 minutes. There you have it, Ayam Ungkep Kemangi - like in the other photo below (with the basil) and Tempe Ungkep. The second one is my favorite, especially when you ungkep the chicken or tempe until there’s no liquid left. That is, my friend, frying the chicken and tempe until golden brown, is the best way to cook fried delicacies!
The first time I knew about this is from my aunts of my mother’s side. Every Idul Fitri, my mother’s side of the family gathers in her parents’ house in Madiun. Two of my aunts, Aunt Ndari and Aunt Yuni are always responsible for feeding 20 people for at least 5 days straight. Their choice is to make a ton of Bumbu Ungkep, marinating the chicken, tofu, tempe, and lele or catfish altogether in a huge container, so once it comes for dinner and lunch, they just have to fry it until golden brown! It’s a perfect make-ahead meal, especially during this Ramadan time where you need to make sahur/suhoor in the middle of the night. Enjoy!
Ayam Ungkep Kemangi (Ungkep, without frying)
Tempe Ungkep Cabe Ijo (also without frying)
AYAM UNGKEP atau TEMPE-TAHU UNGKEP
*for details of this recipe, to see how much less of the liquid you want, watch the video on my Instagram reel here
1 kg of whole chicken, cut into pieces or 500 gram of Tempe + 500 grams of Tofu - 1 kg ayam pejantan atau ayam kampung atau 2 papan Tempe dan Tahu
2 Bay leaf - 2 daun salam
oil
water
Bumbu Ungkep
7 cloves of garlic - 7 siung bawang putih
5 cloves of Southeast Asian Shallots/2 French Shallots/1 medium sweet/yellow onion - 5 siung bawang merah atau 1 bawang bombay putih.
1 tbsp of toasted coriander seeds/1 tsp of ground coriander - 1 sdm ketumbar sangrai/1 sdt bubuk ketumbar
8 cm of fresh galangal/ 1,5 tsp of galangal powder - 3 ruas lengkuas/1,5 sdt bubuk lengkuas
6 cm of fresh ginger/ 1/2 tsp of ginger powder - 2 ruas jahe/1 sdt bubuk jahe
8 cm of fresh turmeric / 1,5 tsp of turmeric powder - 3 ruas kunyit/1,5 sdt bubuk kunyit
salt - garam
Recipe in English
Process all of the ingredients for Bumbu Ungkep in an ulegan, blender, or food processor.
Heat a little bit of oil in a pot, add Bumbu Ungkep mixture and cook for around 2 minutes until fragrant
Add the chicken or tempe and tofu, sautee for one minute
Add bay leaf and water, just enough until it covers the chicken or tempe and tofu
Ungkep or to translate in English, simmer in low to medium heat until most of the liquid dissolves. This should take around 30 - 45 minutes.
It’s best to put the lid on (fully closed or ¾ closed) when cooking with this Ungkep technique, as the steam will help in making the Bumbu seep into every part of the chicken/tempe/tofu.
When the chicken or tempe and tofu are cooked, fry them until golden or you can keep them in a container. Once it’s stored in a container, you can keep it in the fridge for 3 days or for 2 - 4 weeks in the freezer. (Depending on the freezer, if it can get super cold, then it’s safe to keep it for 4 weeks)
When it comes out of the freezer, thaw the chicken or tempe and tofu - then fry until golden! I simply thaw my Ayam Ungkep for 2 minutes using the defrost button in a microwave - for Tempe and Tofu, it should be faster.
Resep dalam Bahasa Indonesia
Haluskan bahan-bahan untuk bumbu ungkep di ulegan, blender, atau food processor
Panaskan sedikit minyak di panci, lalu tambahkan Bumbu Ungkep dan masak sekitar 2 menit sampai harum.
Tambahkan ayam atau tempe dan tahu, masak sekitar 1 menit.
Tambahkan daun salam dan air - pastikan air menutupi sekitar 6 cm dari permukaan ayam atau tempe dan tahu
Ungkep dalam api kecil ke sedang sampai sat atau airnya menyusut. Biasanya butuh sekitar 30 - 45 menit
Untuk hasil ungkep terbaik, tutup panci (bisa menutup seluruhnya atau ¾) agar uap dari bumbu ungkepnya bisa membantu bumbu agar lebih merasuk.
Saat ayam atau tempe dan tahu sudah matang, silahkan langsung digoreng sampai keemasan atau bisa disimpan dalam wadah. Bisa disimpan di kulkas selama 3 hari atau simpan di freezer selama 2 - 4 minggu (Bergantung freezernya, kalau bisa dingin sekali, harusnya aman disimpan selama 4 minggu)
Saat sudah dikeluarkan dari freezer, silahkan luluhkan ayam atau tempe dan tahu terlebih dahulu sebelum menggoreng. (Saya luluhkan di freezer dengan pilihan defrost selama 1 atau 2,5 menit - bergantung ukuran ayam atau tempe dan tahu)