Ayam Pongteh is a favourite Nyonya recipe, and simply irresistible with its earthy and salty flavour with the barest hint of sweet.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
What is Ayam Pongteh?
Ayam pongteh is a rustic chicken stew that hails from the Nyonya community in Malacca. Its flavour relies heavily on the use of taucheo (fermented soy beans), soy sauce and aromatics, with a touch of gula melaka (dark palm sugar).
You’ll know that ayam is the Malay word for chicken, right?
So what does Pongteh Mean?
Colloquially translated, Pongteh means meat tea. Let’s break it down:
- pong = way back when, in vernacular Hokkien, this referred to meat, particularly pork, which is how the dish started out.
- teh = this is the Malay word for tea.
I know that’s not what all the other food sites say. Call me a rule breaker. It’s what I’ve always known it to be, for as long as I can remember. Not going to argue with the grandma, are we?
Pongteh was referred to as meat tea because it was considered to be a dish that warmed the soul, much like chicken soup or Chinese medicinal teas. One would slurp the almost soupy gravy, much like one would soup or tea, and enjoy its goodness.
Mind you, because of the potatoes, that “soup” thickens up eventually, especially if you are keeping chicken pongteh overnight. Because it tastes even better the next day!
Who are the Nyonyas?
If you’re local to Singapore and Malaysia, you’ll know this one, naturally. If not:
Nyonyas (Babas for the men) are a unique ethnic group found in these two countries who trace their origins to Malacca and Penang, in Malaysia.
Ethnically, they are Chinese, and predominantly, of Hokkien origin, as these would have been the earlier settlers. Over time, through intermarriage and close proximity, the Nyonyas took on Malay characteristics like the style of dressing for the ladies and the language spoken, which is Malay.
Their food is a delicious combination of the two cuisines, like Ayam Buah Keluak.
You can read more about the Nyonyas and the other ethnic groups in Singapore and Malaysia over on this page.
So the name for today’s recipe, Ayam Pongteh, is an amalgamation of the 2 languages, Hokkien and Malay. In fact, the word pongteh on its own is a combination of the two.
Ayam Pongteh Recipe
It’s an easy recipe and every Peranakan family (a term that also refers to Nyonyas) will have its own version of Ayam Pongteh, or Babi Pongteh (pork pongteh).
This Peranakan recipe is definitely Chinese in origin, and unlike many other Nyonya recipes, stays true to its original flavours. You don’t find much Malay influence apart from the gula melaka (palm sugar).
Besides the chicken and potatoes, the other “fillings” used for ayam pongteh can vary from family to family. Some love bamboo shoots in theirs, which many believe is how the original was made. You’ll also find jicama, carrots, shiitake and even puffed tofu, but not all at once!
I love shiitake in mine, and occasionally, also puffed tofu.
This is what we’ll be doing:
- lightly marinate the chicken with the 2 soy sauces
- grind up the onion, garlic and ginger (not everyone uses ginger in pongteh recipes, but I do in mine)
- brown the potatoes
- get cooking with the chicken
- add the potatoes and mushrooms and finish cooking
Easy?
The Ingredients
Let’s take a look at some of the ingredients we want to pay attention to in this recipe.
Taucheo (Fermented Soy Beans)
Taucheo makes up the flavour base in pongteh recipes, and that’s certainly the case in today’s chicken pongteh. These fermented soybeans have a very earthy, sweet and salty flavour, and are an essential East and South East Asian ingredient. It’s in my list of top 5 Singaporean and Malaysian ingredient, as you might remember at the start of my SMR newsletter.
Taucheo substitute
Dark miso paste makes the best substitute, even if it rice based. It has the same earthy, salty flavour.
You can read more about taucheo and its other substitutes here.
Gula Melaka
Gula melaka is the palm sugar that’s commonly used in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. It’s more often than not, made from the flower buds of the coconut palm.
Unlike the Thai palm sugar, gula melaka is very dark and hard. It is intensely rich and sweet with toasty, caramel flavours. I will advise against having a taste, because you will not be able to stop yourself from going back for more. Again and again.
To use gula melaka, you either chop it up into little pieces or grate it, the latter is much easier to do.
Gula Melaka Substitute
Don’t sub gula melaka with Thai palm sugar, as it’s just not sweet enough. Coconut sugar is a great substitute for gula melaka if you happen to have it lying around.
Otherwise, your best substitute for gula melaka is brown sugar (light or dark). Molasses is just too strong for this. As a last resort, white sugar makes a perfectly acceptable substitute to cook chicken pongteh.
The Chicken
I tend to use a combination of chicken thighs and drumsticks. The chicken thighs are boneless but not the drumsticks, of course. Chicken on the bone is always going to give you a better tasting stew, soup or curry, so that’s the way you want to go.
What portions you use is completely up to you. The recipe here will serve about 4-6 people, depending on the size of your chicken portions and the appetites of the diner. Don’t forget that we also have potatoes in ayam pongteh.
How to Serve Chicken Pongteh?
It goes perfect well with some plain white rice, which would be the traditional way of enjoying this nyonya dish. And what is also customary, is to have some sambal belacan on the side to add a little heat to the meal.
Sambal belacan is that red chilli paste or condiment made with shrimp paste that is a must for Malay families in Singapore and Malaysia. And many non Malay ones like mine.
Here are some examples to serve with ayam pongteh:
And that’s about all that needs particular attention. Shall we get cooking?
If you like the recipe, why don’t you leave me a comment and if you like, a 5-star rating? Thank you!
And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor, and hashtag it #linsfood
Lin xx
More Chicken Recipes
Ayam Pongteh (Nyonya Chicken Stew)
Equipment
- 1 knife
- 1 chopping board
- 1 large bowl for marinating chicken
- 1 small bowl for the taucheo (fermented soybeans)
- 1 fork
- 1 chopper or blender for grinding the onion and garlic
- 1 airfryer for browning the potatoes if you prefer an airfryer
- 1 medium saucepan for cooking the whole recipe
- 1 ladle
Ingredients
Chicken and Marinade
- 750 g chicken portions I used boneless thighs and drumsticks
- 2 Tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 dash ground white pepper
Aromatics
- 1 large onion pre peeled weight 200g (7 oz)
- 8 medium garlic cloves pre peeled weight 60g (2 oz)
- 5 cm fresh ginger
Dry Spices
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- 1 star anise
- ground white pepper
Everything Else
- 10 shiitake
- 3 Tbsp taucheo
- 1 Tbsp gula melaka about 10g (0.35 oz)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable or peanut oil for frying the spices and aromatics
- 2 medium potatoes pre peeled weight about 700g (1.5 lb)
- 250 ml vegetable or peanut oil for browning the potatoes if NOT USING THE AIRFRYER
- 375 ml water
- ½ tsp rice vinegar or clear vinegar
Instructions
Marinate the Chicken
- Place the chicken portions in a large bowl and add the soy sauces and white pepper and mix thoroughly.Set aside while you get everything else ready.
Other prep work
- Peel and quarter the onion and place in the chopper. Do the same with the garlic and ginger. Chop everything to a fine paste, you shouldn't need any water. Set aside.
- Place the taucheo in a small bowl and mash with a fork.
- Clean the shiitake and slice into 3-4 pieces per mushroom.
- Grate about 1 Tbsp of gula melaka.
Brown the Potatoes
Frying in Oil
- Peel the potatoes and quarter them. You can also leave the skin on, if you like, just scrub clean and quarter.
- Heat the oil in the saucepan on medium heat.
- Drop the potatoes in gently and fry for 5 minutes to gently brown, turning them. We are not cooking the potatoes, so we don't need long.If your saucepan isn't big enough, do this in 2 batches.
- Take the potatoes out of the hot oil and place on the plate that's been lined with kitchen paper, to absorb excess oil. Leave until needed.
- Pour out most of the oil, leaving about 2 Tbsp in the saucepan.
In an Air Fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 200°C/400°F.
- Peel and quarter the potatoes. Or scrub clean and quarter, if you prefer the skin on.
- Place the potatoes in your air fryer and drizzle half a Tbsp of vegetable oil and rub it all over the potatoes.
- Arrange in a single layer and fry for 7 minutes. In the meantime, let's get the chicken going.
Let's cook the Ayam Pongteh
- Heat 2 Tbsp of oil on medium heat and fry the cinnamon stick and star anise for 30 seconds.
- Add the onion paste and fry for 3 minutes, reducing the heat to medium-low.
- Add the mashed taucheo and gula melaka and stir for 30 seconds.
- Tip the chicken in, along with all the marinating liquid. Stir to coat the chicken with the aromatics.
- Pour in the water, along the side of the saucepan, so you're not "rinsing" the chicken of all its coating. Bring everything to a boil, cover and cook for 15 – 20 minutes. If your chicken portions are huge, go for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, add the browned potatoes and sliced shiitake and stir to mix well. Bring back to a boil, cover, and cook for another 20 minutes, until the chicken and potatoes are cooked through.At this stage, if you want more gravy, add the remaining water and bring back to a simmer.
- Check seasoning. Add salt if you think it needs it (if you added more water, you probably will want it). Finish off with a dash of ground white pepper and stir in the vinegar.Leave to rest for 5 minutes before serving.Can be kept in the fridge overnight, but you may need to add a little more salt or light soy sauce.
Really keen to make this! Thank you for being so considerate and gave us substitute option!
What is the Gula Melaka to brown sugar/coconut sugar ratio and taucheo to dark miso paste ratio? How much gram/tbspoon I need to put in?
Thank u in advance from a Muarian who loves Nyonya food but is working in New Zealand (so I can’t access taucheo and gula melaka 😭)
My pleasure, Chris. For the taucheo, I’d use 2 Tbsp of dark/red miso paste for the 3 Tbsp we have in this recipe. So 1 Tbsp of miso paste = 1.5 Tbsp taucheo.
Gula melaka and brown sugar or coconut sugar, you can do a straight swap. Their intensity is pretty similar.
Let me know how it goes.
Hi the ingredient list did not state shitake or did I miss it? So I was surprised when I saw shitake in the cooking steps. Can you advise how many shitake I should use?
Hi Evelyn, thanks for bringing that to my attention! 10 shiitake will be perfect for the recipe here.
I live in a town of India where ingredients like taucheo and Gula Melaka will not be found anywhere…not even online
Can I use substitutes? Really want to make this dish
Hi Sunita, the best substitute for taucheo is the Japanese miso paste. But I can imagine that you might not be able to find that either where you are. I know that fermented soybeans are use in North Eastern India, given its proximity to China. So perhaps look for aakhone, I know it’s used in Nagaland.
As for gula melaka, jaggery is a great substitute.
Where in India are you? I might be able to help better if I know that.
Tried this yesterday, and hubby and I both loved it. We also made your sambal belacan as you suggested it – fab! Thanks Lin.
Hi Natalie, I’m so pleased to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
Tried this Ayam Pong Teh recipe. It was a hit with my family. Served with rice and sambal belacan. 😊 Thank you!
My pleasure, Hema. I’m really pleased that you all enjoyed it!