Slow cooker ajam pangang
Slow cooker ajam pangang is an easy Asian classic that needs little preparation. The chicken cooks gently in a rich sauce with tomato, ketjap manis and ginger until the meat is lovely and tender. You mix the spices yourself and can adjust the heat to your taste. Once the slow cooker is on, it needs little attention for a few hours. Serve with steamed white rice and a small bowl of atjar or fresh cucumber for something sharp alongside the sweet sauce. Spoon some sauce over the rice too, as that combination is what makes it so delicious.
Equipment
1 slow cooker capacity of approximately 3.5 litres
Servings people
Ingredients
Chicken and sauce
- 750 g chicken thighs (boneless and skinless)
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves garlic
- 10 g ginger
- 0.5 lemon
- 70 g tomato purée
- 150 ml sweet chilli sauce
- 3 tbsp ketjap manis
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1.5 tsp sambal oelek
- 100 ml water
- 2 tsp cornflour
- salt
Homemade pangang seasoning
- 1.75 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 0.5 tsp ground ginger
- 0.25 tsp ground aniseed
- 1 tsp chicken stock powder
- 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
- 0.5 tsp sugar
- 0.125 tsp white pepper
Instructions
Preparation
- Peel and finely chop 1 onion. Finely chop 3 cloves garlic. Peel and grate 10 g ginger. Squeeze 0.5 lemon.
- Cut 750 g chicken thighs into pieces about 3 cm across. Keep the pieces fairly even in size so they cook at the same rate.
- Mix 1.75 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 0.5 tsp ground ginger, 0.25 tsp ground aniseed, 1 tsp chicken stock powder, 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder, 0.5 tsp sugar and 0.125 tsp white pepper in a small bowl. You will use all of this mixture.
- Reserve 2 tbsp cold water for the cornflour mixture. The rest of the water goes into the sauce.
Cooking
- Put the onion, garlic and grated ginger in the slow cooker. Add 70 g tomato purée, 150 ml sweet chilli sauce, 3 tbsp ketjap manis, 3 tbsp honey, 1.5 tsp sambal oelek, the lemon juice and 70 ml water. Stir in the homemade pangang seasoning until well combined.
- Coat the chicken pieces in the sauce. Spread them evenly across the bottom and gently press any exposed pieces into the sauce. There is no need to brown the chicken first.
- Cover and cook the chicken on LOW for 4 to 5 hours. Start checking after about 4 hours: the chicken should be cooked through and yield easily when pierced with a fork. The exact time depends on your slow cooker. On HIGH, allow about 2½ to 3 hours.
- Towards the end of cooking, mix 2 tsp cornflour with the reserved cold water until smooth. Stir the mixture gently into the hot sauce without breaking up the chicken. Turn the slow cooker to HIGH, cover and cook for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly. This can be done during the final half hour of the stated cooking time.
- If using a clean food thermometer, check a thick piece of chicken: the centre should reach 75 °C and remain at that temperature for at least 30 seconds.
- Taste the sauce once the chicken is cooked. Add salt only if needed, as the ketjap manis and stock powder already contain salt. Give everything one final gentle stir.
Serving
- Serve the slow cooker ajam pangang with steamed white rice. Add atjar or a cucumber salad and put extra sambal on the table if you like.
Nutrition
Calories: 510kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 40gFat: 15gSaturated fat: 4gSugars: 40g
Tried this recipe?Let me know what you think!
Start this afternoon, sit down tonight
my choice
this week
This week we are having slow cooker ajam pangang. The chicken cooks in a sweet, gently spicy sauce with homemade seasoning. Serve with white rice and atjar or cucumber. A little preparation leaves your afternoon free while dinner cooks gently.
