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Indonesian Soy-Braised Chicken (Semur Ayam)
In Jakarta, chef Degan Septoadji taught us to prepare semur ayam, a simple, home-style chicken braise. The flavor base is a white spice paste called bumbu dasar putih, made by blitzing aromatics in a blender. The savory-sweet stew gets complexity from kecap manis, or Indonesian sweet soy sauce, as well as oyster sauce and regular soy sauce. If you are unable to find kecap manis, make an approximation by whisking 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon each molasses and packed light brown sugar. Makrut lime leaves bring wonderful aroma to the dish; look for them in Asian markets. If you can’t find them, simply leave them out. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.
4-6
Servings
Tip
Don’t forget to uncover the pan about halfway through cooking, once the potatoes are just shy of tender. This allows the braising liquid to reduce, which concentrates the flavor and thickens the consistency.
1 hour
Ingredients
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4
medium shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
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4
medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
Directions
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01In a blender, combine the shallots, garlic, ginger, lemon grass, cashews, nutmeg, ¼ cup water and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Process until smooth, about 2 minutes, scraping the blender as needed.
Reviews
July 30, 2026
Good, but makes a big mess!
Don't make this in a skillet like the instructions say; the sauce spattered all over my cooktop. Next time, I'll use a large pot. But it's very tasty!
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