Balinese Chicken is tender chicken with Asian spices; this recipe from the Indonesian kitchen is SO tasty. It is an easy recipe in which the chicken is baked in a spice mixture (the bumbu) and then stewed. It smells great, tastes great, and is very easy to make. Ayam Bumbu Bali is one of the tastiest chicken recipes I know!

A gray plate with chicken pieces and a golden fork taking out a piece. A white background and in the background a piece of pepper, ginger and lemongrass

Balinese Chicken

Indonesian cuisine has a range of delicious recipes. I remember that from back in the day when my neighbor made the tastiest dishes. And it always smelled nice and spicy.

A good example is this Ajam Boemboe Bali. Ayam (or Ajam) stands for chicken. So Bumbu Bali means a spice mixture from Bali. And you can make that bumbu yourself (which is much tastier than a bowl). And that is very easy!
This chicken is delicious with white rice and a delightful salad. Or as part of a rice table!

What do you need for Indonesian Chicken with Balinese Flavoring?

To prepare this Balinese Chicken, you need the following ingredients. You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:

Ingredients Ayam Bumbu Bali individually labeled on a white background

Chicken - Boneless chicken breast is the easiest. But you can also opt for chicken tenderloins, which work great in this recipe.
Tomatoes - Gives a wonderful flavor to the sauce.
Kecap Manis - is a sweet Indonesian soy sauce. It is dark in color and gives a delicious soy taste.
Spices for Ayam Bumbu Bali: Spices are essential in Indonesian cuisine. This is also the case in this recipe, which consists of the basic three: shallot, garlic, and ginger. And in addition to this base for the bumbu, we add some extra spices.
Laos - Or . This is related to the ginger plant and has a spicy citrus taste. If you can't gain it, you can replace it with ginger powder combined with ⅛ teaspoon of lemongrass.
Coconut grate - You add coconut grate to thicken the sauce and to add a hint of coconut.
Cumin - Sweet and warming. Also known as Djinten in Indonesian.
Coriander - fresh and lemony. For most people then. Some think it tastes like soap. Then leave it out.
Trassi - A commonly used in Indonesian cuisine. You can replace it with two teaspoons of miso or two teaspoons of fish sauce (but the taste will be slightly different).
Palm sugar - (Gula Djawa) is extracted from the palm tree. The juice of this tree is boiled down until you have that characteristic brown color. Then when you pour it into a mold, it hardens. It has a caramel-like, slightly salty taste. You can find this ingredient at the Asian Supermarket.
Pasta of tamarind fruits. It has a sweet and sour taste and is wonderfully fresh. You can find this in the Asian Supermarket.
Salam leaf - This is also known as Indonesian bay leaf and is dried (sometimes fresh or frozen) at the Asian supermarket.

How to prepare Ayam Bumbu Bali

You can find a printable recipe with a step-by-step description at the bottom of this blog.

Preparation in 4 steps of Balinese Chicken

Chop the pepper, shallot, garlic, and tomato. Fry the chicken in the wok until golden brown. By frying the chicken, you ensure that the juices remain in the chicken. Place the ingredients for the bumbu in the food processor and pulse until you have an almost smooth spice mix. Of course, a bumbu doesn't have to be completely smooth. It's nice if it still has some structure. But it is not tasty to have large chunks in it.
Heat oil in the wok and add the bumbu. Bake for 3 minutes. Add the tomato cubes, kecap Manis, salam, and lemongrass, and fry for another five minutes.
Add the chicken to the pan and fry in the bumbu for another five minutes.
Put the water and coconut grate in the pan and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Serve!

Serving tip: Serve this Balinese chicken with Bami Goreng and a spicy cucumber salad. Yummy!

A gray plate filled with chicken in a spicy sauce on a white background. In the background a pepper, ginger and lemongrass

Did you make this recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram. I enjoy seeing what your creation looks like. Video recipes can be found on my YouTube channel. And don't forget to save the recipes on Pinterest so you can easily find them next time!

📖 Recipe

A square photo with a grey bowl filled with balinese chicken cubes in a delicoius sauce on a white background

Balinese Chicken (Ayam Bumbu Bali)

5 of 34 votes

Printen Pin Recept

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 45

Total Time: 55

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: indonesian

Author: Andréa

Servings: 4 persons

Author: Andréa

Equipment

Wok
Food processor with knife

Ingredients

2 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 pounds chicken cubes 1 x 1 inch (2 x 2 cm)
1 red chili pepper sliced into coarse pieces
7 shallots finely chopped
5 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 inch fresh ginger peeled and cut into large chunks (3 cm).
1 teaspoon galangal powder
2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
1 teaspoon Shrimp paste
2 tablespoons oil
2 tomatoes cut into cubes
4 tablespoons kecap manis
3 tablespoons palm sugar
3 salam leafs
2 sprigs lemongrass bruised
3 oz. Coconut grate
½ cup water

Ingredients you need per step are listed below the step in Italic

Instructions

Heat some oil in the wok and fry the chicken until golden brown. It doesn't have to be done yet. Remove the cubes from the wok with a slotted spoon and set them aside. Clean the wok.
2 tablespoons sunflower oil, 2 pounds chicken
Add pepper, shallots, ginger, garlic, galangal, coriander, cumin, tamarind, and shrimp paste to the food processor. Pulse until you have an almost smooth bumbu.
1 red chili pepper, 7 shallots, 5 cloves garlic, 1 inch fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon galangal powder, 2 teaspoon ground coriander, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 tablespoon tamarind paste, 1 teaspoon Shrimp paste
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok and put the bumbu into the pan. Fry everything for 3 minutes on medium heat.
2 tablespoons oil
Then add the diced tomatoes, palm sugar, kecap, salam leaves, and lemongrass. Bake for 5 minutes.
2 tomatoes, 4 tablespoons kecap manis, 3 tablespoons palm sugar, 3 salam leafs, 2 sprigs lemongrass
Return the chicken to the wok and stir-fry for 5 minutes.
Put the grated coconut and water in the pan and bring to a boil.
3 oz. Coconut, ½ cup water
Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove the lemon grass and salam leaves.
Serve right away.

Notes

1. Bumbu - To make the bumbu in step 2, use a food processor. If you don't have a food processor, mash it in a mortar or chop everything as finely as possible.

The bumbu is briefly fried in the frying pan to release all the flavors.

2. Trassi - A shrimp paste commonly used in Indonesian cuisine. You can replace it with one teaspoon of miso or one teaspoon of fish sauce (but the taste will be slightly different).

3. Palm sugar - Palm sugar has a caramel-like, slightly salty taste. You can replace it with dark brown caster sugar (although the real palm sugar tastes much more intense).

4. Tamarind - You can find this in the Asian supermarket. You can replace it with two teaspoons of vinegar with two teaspoons of sugar.

5. Salam Leaf - This is also known as Indonesian Bay leaf and is dried (sometimes fresh or frozen) at the Asian supermarket. If you don't have a Salam leaf, replace it with two bay leaves.

6. Spicy - This recipe is made to eat with your whole family. So it falls into the slightly spicy category. But if you like your dinner hot, add 1 to 2 extra red peppers.

7. Storage -

Refrigerator - The Balinese chicken can be kept covered in the fridge for up to three days.
Freezer - Let the Indonesian Chicken with Balinese flavoring cool quickly, put it in an airtight freezer box or bag, and freeze. This keeps it good for up to 2 months. Then, let thaw in the refrigerator.
Reheat - Heat the chicken over medium heat while stirring until hot.

8. The nutritional values shown are per person, without side dishes.