Monday, February 25, 2013

Kacangma Chicken

Kacangma Chicken is essentially a stew of chicken with Kacangma herb and rice wine. It is a dish unique to Sarawak. The Kacangma herb or Motherwort is purportedly to have lots of health benefits. It is thought to help improve blood circulation and enhance the immune system, and speeds up post-natal recovery. Therefore, Kacangma Chicken is traditionally consumed by mothers in confinement, here in Sarawak.

But of course, one does not need to be in confinement to enjoy this dish. Kacangma Chicken is a great dish to eat with steamed white rice, and thus, is widely sold in coffee shops and restaurants.

It is an acquired taste. One either likes it or one doesn't. Truthfully, if one has never eaten it before, it would take time to get accustomed to the taste. Sil, who hails from JB, had her first taste of Kacangma Chicken when she came to Sarawak a few years back. She liked it at first, and ate a whole lot. Till it made her nauseous! Lol. She now has an aversion to it. Lol.

For me, the best Kacangma Chicken is home-cooked. Store-bought ones tend to be diluted and one could hardly taste the wine in the herbal broth. Some vendors even sell Kacangma Chicken without the alcohol!

Theoretically, I know how Kacangma Chicken is cooked. However, up till now, I've never cooked it on my own. ;p It's a tedious process. I'd have to purchase dried, chopped Kacangma from the market. Then, I'd have to brown it over low fire. After that, pound or grind it finely. Then, I'd have to peel lots of ginger and pound them. Next, squeeze out the ginger juice and set it aside. Fry the ginger in a wok with oil, add in chicken, add in Kacangma, add in wine, add in water, add in ginger juice. Dish out and steam till cooked.

Hmn. For a person who dumps everything into a pot to boil whenever she can, Kacangma Chicken is not something I'd cook anytime soon. So, I asked Mom to cook some for me the other day and she gladly did it as she had all the ingredients in hand. Leftovers from Sil's confinement the other day.

Kacangma Chicken

I must say that I really enjoyed the Kacangma Chicken with my rice .... I helped myself to the tender pieces of meat and the spicy and fragrant broth. Yummms .......

Beansprouts with salted vegetables and prawns

To eat with the Kacangma Chicken, I had a plate of beansprouts with salted vegetables and prawns. Yums ....  dinner was surely a wonderful meal that night!! Thanks, Mom!! 

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