Recipe
Kare ayam
Check dates to cook this with Chef Wayan in Petulu.
IDR 450.000per guest, shared class
Balinese chicken curry: bone-in thigh simmered in fried base genep and coconut milk. Lemongrass and lime leaf, not a jar of curry powder.
By Chef Wayan Suryana, Warung Tumang BaliLast updated First published
Serves 4 servings·Prep 20 minutes·Cook 35 minutes
Kare ayam in short
Kare ayam is Balinese chicken curry made with fried base genep, not curry powder. Coat bone-in chicken thigh in the warmed paste, add coconut milk, water, lemongrass, lime leaf, and palm sugar, and simmer gently, uncovered, for about 30 minutes until tender.
Kare ayam sauce is thinner than a stew you would eat with a spoon alone, and it is not a Thai curry paste. The fragrance is lemongrass, lime leaf, and the turmeric already in the paste.
Bone-in thigh stays moist. Breast dries out in coconut milk. Fry the paste before it meets the milk. Raw base genep simmered in coconut tastes harsh, and the candlenut in it is not yet cooked.
Kare ayam ingredients
- 600g bone-in chicken thigh, cut into pieces
- 4 tablespoons fried base genep
- 400ml coconut milk
- 150ml water
- 1 lemongrass stalk, bruised
- 3 lime leaves, torn
- 1 salam leaf, if you have it
- 1 potato, peeled and cut into chunks (optional)
- 1 teaspoon palm sugar
- Salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, if the paste is stiff
How to make kare ayam
- Warm the fried paste in a pot, with a spoon of coconut oil if it will not loosen. Add the chicken and turn it until the pieces are coated.
- Pour in the coconut milk and water. Add lemongrass, lime leaf, salam, potato, palm sugar, and salt.
- Bring to a gentle simmer. Do not boil hard or the coconut milk splits and looks grainy.
- Cook uncovered, stirring now and then, until the chicken is tender and the sauce coats a spoon, about 30 minutes. The potato should be soft.
- Taste for salt. Rest five minutes. Serve with rice. The leaves and the lemongrass are not eaten.
This is the chicken dish that uses the same paste as sate lilit, in a pot instead of on the grill. Nasi kuning or plain rice both sit under it. Guests grind the paste before the pot goes on.
Kare ayam questions
- Is kare ayam the same as Thai curry?
- No. It is seasoned with base genep, the Balinese spice paste, and the sauce is thinner. The fragrance is lemongrass, lime leaf, and turmeric.
- Why did my coconut milk split?
- It boiled too hard. Keep the pot at a gentle simmer so the sauce stays smooth.
- Can I use chicken breast?
- Bone-in thigh is better. Breast dries out in coconut milk.
- Why fry the paste before adding coconut milk?
- Raw base genep simmered in coconut milk tastes harsh, and the candlenut in it is not yet cooked.
Cook next from the same kitchen
- Ayam betutuHow to make ayam betutu: a whole chicken stuffed with fried base genep, wrapped in banana leaf, and steamed or baked for about 3 hours until the meat gives.
- Base genepHow to make base genep (bumbu Bali): pound shallot, garlic, roots, and candlenut, then fry 8–10 minutes until the raw smell is gone. From a Petulu kitchen.
- Nasi kuningHow to make nasi kuning: turmeric coconut rice cooked with lemongrass and lime leaf until gold and separate. Four servings from a Petulu kitchen, 30 minutes.
Plan the food day around this dish
- Where the spice table sits on a food dayHow to read a Balinese spice table: chili, shallot, garlic, turmeric and roots, coconut, lime leaf, banana leaf, and what changes when the menu is plant-based.
- A half-day food itinerary from central UbudA half-day Ubud food plan: dawn market, Petulu rice-field walk, kitchen lunch by 12:30pm. One village kitchen in Bali 80571, not a 48-hour restaurant list.