Recipe: Chicken Pong Teh

Image Credit: Farah

This recipe for Chicken Pong Teh is a Nyonya culture staple, using fermented bean paste as its core ingredient. Legend has it that the word ‘pong’ could be a mispronunciation of the Hokkien word ‘hong’ for stewing in soy sauce while ‘teh’ could mean ‘te’ which is pig trotters in the same dialect.

While in the Hokkien tradition, it was common to serve pig trotters, the Peranakan community pioneered a chicken version of this recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
•  5 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
•  1/4 cup oil
•  1/4 cup taucheo,
•  1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
•  1 tablespoon soy sauce
•  2 tablespoons palm sugar, chopped
•  1 1.5kg chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
•  4 small potatoes, 3 cups water
•  salt to taste

Directions:

1. In a mortar and pestle, pound shallots and garlic into a paste. Alternatively, you could use a blender.
2. In a wok over medium heat, pour in the oil and add the shallot and garlic paste. Fry until fragrant. Stir constantly, making sure not to burn the paste.
3. Add taucheo, palm sugar and dark soy sauce into the wok. Stir until palm sugar has dissolved and liquid has thickened.
4. Add in the chicken and potatoes. Stir and add water to cover the chicken completely. Bring to a boil.
5. Let boil for two minutes and reduce heat and let simmer for an hour or until chicken becomes tender.
6. Remove from heat and season with salt and soy sauce to taste.

There you have the Recipe Chicken Pong Teh. A taste of Peranakan cuisine at home! This dish is best served with steaming hot rice and a crisp acar by the side. While this dish is super easy to make, we know that some of you may have trouble, especially if it’s your first time in the kitchen.

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