Nasi Katok was developed in the Brunei in the 1970s, but is now a national staple. It consists of fried chicken served over rice with sambal sauce. It became popular as a street food and is typically sold at roadside stalls — an inexpensive and filling meal. The name "Nasi Katok" roughly translates to "knock rice," referring to the practice of vendors knocking on customers' car windows to serve it. The addition of a butter-milk sauce is even more recent, yet has become ubiquitous in most urban areas. (Note, the sauce is not made with buttermilk, rather with butter and evaporated milk, thus the hyphen.)
Nasi Katok
Marinade
1 whole chicken, 2½-3 lbs, cut into pieces, or 4-6 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken drumsticks or thighs
1 calamansi or lime
1 clove garlic or 1 cube frozen
2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger or 2 cubes frozen
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Mix the juice from the calamansi or lime together with the remainder of the ingredients in a Ziplock bag or small bowl. Massage into the chicken pieces and marinate at least 30 minutes, up to 12 hours.
Sambal
2 dried chiles, spice level of your choice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 yellow onion
½ red onion
2 cloves garlic
2 fresh red Long Hot chiles or chili pepper of your choice
2 teaspoons anchovy or shrimp paste (optional)
1 tablespoon tamarind paste*
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons salt
*If you cannot find tamarind paste, you can substitute in a mix of 1 teaspoon lemon juice+1 teaspoon tomato paste+1teaspoon honey or 1 tablespoon ketchup
Place chiles in warm water to soften them. Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.
Chop onions and garlic into large pieces. Add to a blender or small food processor with ½ cup of tap water. Blend to a paste. Add to saucepan and simmer, stirring often,10 minutes. Add a few tablespoons of water at a time if the mixture starts to stick or burn.
When onion mixture is almost done cooking, remove dried chiles from the water, remove their stems, and chop into large pieces. Remove stems from fresh chiles and chop into large pieces. Add both chiles to the same blender or small food processor with another ½ cup of tap water. Blend to a paste. Add to the simmering onion mixture.
Add anchovy or shrimp paste, if using, tamarind paste, sugar, and salt. Bring to a simmer and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, adding a few tablespoons of water at a time if it starts to stick or burn.
Butter-Milk Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
2 red Long Hot chiles
1 bunch (8-10 pcs) curry leaves or basil leaves
1 can (300ml) evaporated milk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Heat butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove stems from the chiles and chop the chiles finely. Add chopped chiles and whole leaves to the butter. Sauté 3-5 minutes, until fragrant. Remove a few leaves for serving.
Add remainder of the ingredients and simmer over low heat for 20-30 minutes, until slightly thickened.
Chicken
Marinated chicken pieces
~2-3 cups vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour (I used Cup4Cup)
1 cup corn starch
1 cup rice flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Add oil to a large sauté pan, cast iron skillet, or Dutch oven to1½-2 inches deep. Use a thermometer to heat over medium heat oil to 350°. Turn oven to 200°. Place a cooling rack on a half sheet pan.
Beat eggs and place in a shallow bowl or large plate.
Mix together flour, corn starch, rice flour, salt and pepper and place in a separate shallow bowl or large plate.
Remove a chicken piece from marinade. Dunk in beaten eggs, then in flour mixture tossing to coat. Place piece into oil. Repeat with remaining pieces. Do not overcrowd the pan; you may need to cook the chicken in two batches. Cook on one side for 10 minutes, watching thermometer and adjusting heat to keep oil at 350°. Flip and cook another 7-10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through.
Remove chicken and place on cooling rack and into oven to keep warm.
To Serve
2 Persian cucumbers
2 cups cooked jasmine rice
To serve, slice unpeeled cucumbers on a diagonal.
Press rice into a small, single-serve bowl and invert onto plate.
Dip fried chicken into butter-milk and place on rice. Surround rice with slices of cucumber and a tablespoon or two of the sambal. Serve extra butter-milk sauce and sambal on the side.
#nasikotak #sambal #friedchicken #buttermilk @cup4cup
FUN FACTS:
The world's largest residential palace, the Istana Nurul Iman, is in Brunei. The official home of the Sultan of Brunei, the palace is more than 2 million square feet and has 1,788 rooms.
All Brunei citizens are given free healthcare and education. The literacy rate in Brunei is more than 97%.
The sale and public consumption of alcohol is illegal in Brunei, although non-Muslims can bring up to two liters into the country.
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