Slow Cooked Ginger Kampung Chicken

It's also known as Sigun in East Malaysia and Malay chicken in other parts of the world.*

I was ecstatic. They were selling whole kampung chicken at a tag of RM3.50 in Tesco. It's usually priced between RM15-RM20. The due date was the next day. I thought, "Why not?" I'm always looking out for bargains and here it was.

That's me - I complain when it's too expensive. I'm suspicious when it's too cheap. The chicken was examined thoroughly. I looked for faults, anything that allowed me to say, "Yeah, I knew it! That's why they were selling it off cheap!"

Slow Cooked Ginger Kampung Chicken

I didn't find anything out of the ordinary, of course. That's how it landed in my slow cooker. Why the slow cooker, you ask? Simple. Kampung chicken is known for tough meat and the slow cooker is an adept tool for cooking anything into a delicious tender state. Meat goes weak in the presence of a slow cooker.

This recipe was born out of a I-feel-like-adding-this-and-that moment. It comes served in ginger gravy with a mix of rice wine. I was giddy for more and it wasn't from alcohol effects. This tasted yummy and wholesome.

Ingredients:-
- 1 whole kampung chicken (600g)
- 2 large pieces of ginger (a palm-sized piece - chopped)
- A handful of fresh spring onions (chopped)
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- A dash of black pepper
- ¼ cup tapai (Sabah rice wine)
- ¾ cup water

How-to:
1) Marinate the chicken with oyster sauce and a dash of black pepper. Leave aside for an hour.

2) In a pestle and mortar, pound chopped ginger and spring onions together, into a rough paste.

3) Pour water and tapai into the slow cooker. Place the chicken into the slow cooker. Pour the remaining oyster sauce that had accumulated in the bowl over the chicken.

4) Spoon ginger paste around the chicken. Pour the remaining ginger juice over the chicken.

5) Cook for 2½ hours on high. Quickly baste chicken using the gravy in the cooker. Continue cooking for a further 30 minutes or an hour until chicken is tender to your liking.

6) Serve garnished with fresh coriander.

This is best eaten with rice.

Note: Watch the water level at the 2½-hour mark. Add a little water with tapai, if necessary. These measurements are perfect for my slow cooker. For experienced slow cooker users, adjust liquid quantity accordingly at the beginning.

Marinate with oyster sauce and black pepper for an hour

Pound ginger and spring onions together

Place chicken into slow cooker

Here you go - lovely browned kampung chicken garnished with fresh coriander.

Slow Cooked Ginger Kampung Chicken

There is none of that overpowering gingery taste in this dish. The long cooking process and sweetish tapai diluted the intensity into a nice rich flavour. So don't be worried about putting in a lot of ginger.

Showing Off My Ginger Kampung Chicken Masterpiece

* (Sources: http://community.worldheritage.org/articles/Malay_(28chicken) , https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkX4d6OQcwU )