Ayam dan Tempe Balado (Spicy Chicken & Tempe Balado)

Name: Ayam dan Tempe Balado (Spicy Chicken & Tempe Balado)
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Indonesian
Ingredients: 8 piece large red chilies; 2 piece bird's eye chiles; 3 clove garlic; 3 piece shallots; 1 medium tomato; 1 tbsp tamari; 1 tsp palm sugar; 450 g boneless skinless chicken thighs; 225 g tempe; 2 tbsp neutral oil; 1 tbsp oil; 1 tsp fine sea salt; 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbsp fresh lime juice; 3 tbsp chopped scallions; 2 tbsp fried shallots; 1 cup steamed rice or cauliflower rice

A high-protein Indonesian stir of bite-size chicken and crunchy tempe cooked in a bright, garlicky Balado chili-tomato paste — great for training meal prep.

AI image

45 min

start to finish

20 min

hands on

Some skill

difficulty

servings

4 servings

Ingredients

For the spice paste

8 piece large red chiliesdeseeded if you want milder heat
2 piece bird's eye chilesoptional, leave whole for milder overall heat
3 clove garlicpeeled
3 piece shallotspeeled
1 medium tomatoroughly chopped
1 tbsp tamariuse gluten-free tamari (or regular soy sauce if not gluten-sensitive)
1 tsp palm sugaror brown sugar

Main

450 g boneless skinless chicken thighscut into 1-inch pieces
225 g tempecut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 tbsp neutral oilvegetable or canola oil
1 tbsp oilfor shallow-frying tempe (can be same type as above)
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Finishing

1 tbsp fresh lime juiceabout 1 lime

Garnish (optional)

3 tbsp chopped scallions
2 tbsp fried shallotsstore-bought or homemade

To serve

1 cup steamed rice or cauliflower riceper 4 servings (optional)

Contains soy. Cooking for an allergy? Check the label on every packet you use — brands differ, and we can only tell you what the recipe calls for.

Roughly, per serving

430 kcal36g protein12g carbs22g fat

An estimate, not a lab analysis.

Method

Prepare the spice paste: place the red chilies, bird's eye chilies (if using), garlic, shallots, and chopped tomato in a blender or mortar and pound until a coarse paste forms; scrape into a bowl.
Season chicken: put the chicken pieces in a bowl, sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper, toss to coat and set aside.
Pat the tempe cubes dry with paper towel so they fry evenly.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a 10-inch nonstick or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add tempe in a single layer and shallow-fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides.
Transfer the fried tempe to a plate lined with paper towel and season lightly with a pinch of salt.
In the same skillet, add 2 tbsp neutral oil and reduce heat to medium. Add the blended spice paste and sauté, stirring frequently, until the raw tomato scent cooks off and the paste darkens slightly, about 4–5 minutes.
Add the seasoned chicken pieces to the skillet, toss to coat in the paste, and increase heat to medium-high so the chicken sears a bit on the outside.
Pour in 1 tbsp tamari, 1 tsp palm sugar, and 1/4 cup water. Stir to combine, cover partially, and let the mixture simmer until chicken is cooked through and the sauce thickens, about 8 minutes.
Uncover, add the fried tempe, and toss everything together. Cook uncovered 1–2 minutes so excess liquid evaporates and sauce clings to pieces. Taste and adjust seasoning with remaining 1/2 tsp salt and remaining 1/2 tsp black pepper if needed.
Finish with 1 tbsp fresh lime juice, scatter chopped scallions and fried shallots over the top (if using), and remove from heat.
Serve hot with steamed rice or cauliflower rice. Leftovers keep 3–4 days refrigerated and reheat well.

Worth knowing

Adjust heat: remove seeds from the large red chilies or skip the bird's eye chilies to reduce spiciness.
Make it lower-fat: use chicken breast instead of thighs, and shallow-fry tempe with just a light spray of oil in a nonstick pan.
If you don't have a blender, pound the shallots, garlic and chilies with a mortar and pestle and finely chop the tomato before adding.
To mimic the fermented umami of terasi (shrimp paste) without shellfish, stir 1/2 tsp miso into the sauce at step 8; skip this if you want to avoid extra sodium.

Make it yours

Cooking without dairy, without an oven, for someone who won't touch chilli, or for six instead of four? Have the recipe rewritten around it — quantities, steps and all.

HalalGluten-freeHigh proteinMeal prep

More Indonesian cooking

An original Restaurant Pro recipe — our own composition in the idiom of Indonesian cooking, not any restaurant's recipe. Written to be halal and gluten-free as listed.