Indonesian Fried Chicken (Ayam Goreng Kuning)

Ingredients:
1 kg chicken, any parts, preferably bone-in
2 stalks lemon grass, white part only, bruised
2 bay leaves
2 to 3 kaffir lime leaves
2 tbs cooking oil
Enough water to cover the chicken
Spice paste:
10 shallots, halved
10 cloves garlic, bruised
6 to 8 candlenuts, pan roasted without oil
1 tbs ground coriander
2 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2 to 2 tbs galangal powder
2 to 3 tbs palm sugar, grated
Salt and white pepper to taste (i used about 2 tsp of salt)
2 tbs cooking oil

• Pierce your chicken parts with a fork a couple of times on each side.
• In a food processor puree all the spice paste ingredients until smooth.
• In a cooking bowl, preheat 2 tablespoon cooking oil over medium heat. Add in the spice paste puree, lemon grass, bay leaves, lime leaves and cook until fragrant. Add the chicken parts, stir to combine, add the water just enough to cover chicken parts. Once boiling cover the cooking bowl and turn the heat to low. Simmer for about 45 minutes remove from heat and let the chicken sit in the sauce for another few hours or overnight for better flavor.
• There is two options, you can either deep fry the chicken or roast it. If you want to bake the chicken like i did in this recipe, preheat your oven to 190 °C upper heat. Prepare baking sheet, line it with parchment paper, place the chicken and roast them for about 15 minutes on each side or until crispy golden brown.
• Serve it with steamed rice, sambal terasi and sliced cucumber or tomatoes.