Lemper Ayam

Sticky Rice with chicken filling , called as Lemper Ayam is a traditional snack in Indonesia . I remember me and my mom walked to the market and stopped by after grocery shopping to buy this snack . This was her favorite , wasn’t so much for me . She really liked this , it was all wrapped up in green banana leaves . I never wondered how they made this .. i never thought i would have to try to make it myself . But living oversea pushed you to do things that you never thought you’d do . Even my mom never made lemper ayam herself , she always bought it .. why did we have to make them , when they’re available basically everyday every time you go to the market ?

Having said that , it takes time to make lemper ayam , but i believe if you make the filling ahead of time , you can save a lot of time . And cut down the total time .

For Chicken Fillings : 

About 4 pieces of boneless skinless chicken thigh / tenders

1/2 of small onion , or if you have shallot , you can use about 2 large shallots

6-8 garlic cloves

salt , pepper , 2 bay leaves , 1 stalk of lemon grass , smashed , white part only

2 tbsp. of ground coriander

1/4 cup of toasted almond or if you have 3 candlenut

300 ml of coconut milk

1. Boil the chicken until it’s done , then remove from the pot , let it cool and shred the chicken . Set aside .

2. Make a paste from the onion , garlic , and almond . Then saute the paste in a heated skillet with oil , add bay leaves and lemon grass and coriander .

3. Add the chicken , stir until it’s mixed , add coconut milk . Bring to boil then simmer until the chicken dry .

For sticky rice : 

500 grams of sticky rice soaked for 2 hours

500 ml of coconut milk

2 bay leaves

1 stalk of lemon grass , smashed

1/2 tsp. of salt

1.After soaking for 2 hours , steam the rice for 15 minutes .

2. Boil the coconut milk with bay leaves , lemon grass and salt , then add in the pre-steamed sticky rice , mix until all the coconut milk has been absorbed by the rice . Takes few minutes .

3. Place the rice back into the steamer , steam for 20 minutes . Done . Let it cool

Assemble : 

Take about 2 tbsp. of rice with slightly wet hands , and then roll them into a ball , add the filling , cover up with more rice and roll them up and shape into slightly oblong shape . Wrap with banana leaves if you have , if not , wrap it with plastic wrap . Store in the fridge