2Tbspvegetable or peanut oilfor frying the spices and aromatics
2medium potatoespre peeled weight about 700g (1.5 lb)
250mlvegetable or peanut oilfor browning the potatoes if NOT USING THE AIRFRYER
375mlwater
½tsprice 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.