Could you please give any feedback to this recipe?

I know there is another translated recipe that has been posted in this site by my friend, but this one is a different recipe. Actually, we got the same task in which each of us has been asked to translate a different recipe. And, this one is known as "Pepes Ayam Kampung Daun Kemangi" in Indonesia. Here is the recipe:

Steamed Chicken with Lemon Basil Wrapped in Banana Palm Leaf

Ingredients:
½ kg chicken, cut in to 7 pcs
Lemon basils
1 tomato, cut into 7 pcs
1 cm galangal
1 cm ginger
1 cm turmeric
½ tsp chili powder
6 cloves of garlic
4 cloves of onion
1 Tbs. Knorr All-in-One
1 tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp candlenut
2 pcs kaffir lime for removing the raw chicken smell
4 Tbs. cooking oil for sautéing
Banana palm leaves (make it wither by drying it on a stove)

Procedure:
1. Smear the chicken with Squeezed lime juice. Wait for about 10 – 15 minutes. Then, clean it up.
2. Puree all the ingredients with blender, then sauté the puree until it smells aromatically.
3. Put in 7 pieces of chicken, then add 3 Tbs. water, stir until it is dried.
4. Take the dried banana palm leaves for covering the chickens.
5. Put lemon basils on top of each banana palm leaf.
6. Add 1 piece of chicken, and give other lemon basils on the top of the chicken and put a piece of tomato.
7. Wrap up the banana leaves until it covers all. Pin the banana palm leaf with small skewers/toothpicks in the corner and the middle.
8. Repeat the 5-7 step for the 6 other pieces of chicken.
9. Steam the chickens wrapped with banana palm leaf for about 40 minutes.
10. Delicious steamed chickens wrapped with banana palm leaf are ready to serve.

Note:
1. For chickens: Usually in Indonesia, most of recipes use "ayam kampung" (Javanese chickens) for better dishes. "Ayam kampung" is a traditional-raised chicken with low fat under its skin, has yellow-coloured skin and lean and tender meat. It lives freely and searches its food itself.
2. For MSG enhancer: You can either follow the recipe or use another MSG enhancer, like Accent Flavor Enhancer, with your desired measurement.
3. For banana palm leaf: Alternatively, if you can’t find any banana palm leaf, you can look for aluminum foil or cooking paper.

Any feedback and comment of yours will be highly appreciated and help us much in writing the report. Thank you.

Irsyaad Ahmadi Husain
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  • 4 Comments

4 Comments

creamtea May 2, 2016
It sounds delicious but I have some suggestions that may make it clearer:

Is the chicken boneless? You need to specify in the ingredients. Usually in the US boneless cutlets (breast meat) or boneless thighs are available, generally these cuts are separately packaged. Do you use the breast meat? or the thigh? Do you cut it into strips or chunks of a certain dimension?
in step one, I might word it differently: "sprinkle chicken pieces with lime juice and allow to marinate, chilled, about 10-15 minutes. Rinse and pat dry (if that's what you mean by "clean it up")

In step 2 I would say, "then saute the puree until aromatic"
In step 3, "...add the 3 Tbs. water, and stir and fry until dry"
In step 4-5, something like "take each banana leaf and lay flat on the work surface, then cover with a leaf of lemon basil"
Step 6 "add a piece of chicken, another leaf of lemon basil, and a piece of tomato"
Step 7, describe how to wrap the banana leaf (perhaps like this: "fold the end nearest you over part of the filling, fold in each side, then roll into a packet xxx by xxx inches (or cm), then secure with a toothpick" if that's the way to do it)
Step 9, how to steam (perhaps a wok with a few inches of water and a steamer?)
In notes:
At least in the US, msg is considered unhealthy and is avoided. Can it be made without this ingredient?



"Lemon basils" We would say, lemon basil leaves. How many? Is there a substitution that can be used if the cook can't find lemon basil? Lemon basil is a specialty item occasionally available in farmer's markets, not so much in grocery stores. How many leaves? Whole, or shredded?

Which ingredients are meant to be pureed? Need to specify; you should list them individually in the instructions, since you probably don't mean to include the chicken or the oil, but probably mean the galangal through the candlenut; are the kaffir lime leaves to be pureed with these ingredients as well? Or used in some other way?

How exactly do you make the banana leaves wither? Something like "using tongs, hold banana leaves 4 inches (?) over flame until limp"? Banana leaves are rare at least where I live, so I wouldn't know at all how to wither them.

 
foofaraw May 2, 2016
See my notes in *
Steamed Chicken with Lemon Basil Wrapped in Banana Palm Leaf

Ingredients:
½ kg chicken, cut in to 7 pcs
* xx tbsp lime juice, from xx [type of] lime. (I see lime juice in Instruction but not in ingredients).
Lemon basils *provide the amoung
1 tomato, cut into 7 pcs *easier if you just said cut it to wedges
1 cm galangal
1 cm ginger
1 cm turmeric
½ tsp chili powder *is this chili powder or red pepper powder
6 cloves of garlic
4 cloves of onion *do you mean shallot?
1 Tbs. Knorr All-in-One *I'd omit the MSG when you go to international site. I think MSG addition is more of an Indonesian's habit that is not healthy and not exactly necessary. I have tried both and there is no changes in taste, not to mention will drive health conscious reader away.
1 tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
1 tsp candlenut *change unit to pieces
2 pcs kaffir lime for removing the raw chicken smell *delete the (for...). Move this info in Note.
4 Tbs. cooking oil for sautéing
Banana palm leaves (make it wither by drying it on a stove) *you'll need to provide clearer instruction or separate Note (color changes, until when you need to stop, changes in matte to glossy surface, if you need to take out the rib first or not, do you need to cut the rim or not, etc).

Procedure:
1. Smear the chicken with Squeezed lime juice. Wait for about 10 – 15 minutes. Then, clean it up. *"Rub the chicken with lime juice". Elaborate "clean it up"
2. Puree all the ingredients with blender, then sauté the puree until it smells aromatically. *change ingredients to xxx to yyy (e.g., tomato to candlenut)
3. Put in 7 pieces of chicken, then add 3 Tbs. water, stir until it is dried. *is it stir fry, or pan fry? Stir is unclear. Is it taken out of pan afterwards (wrt to #6)?
4. Take the dried banana palm leaves for covering the chickens.
5. Put lemon basils on top of each banana palm leaf.
6. Add 1 piece of chicken, and give other lemon basils on the top of the chicken and put a piece of tomato. *not clear between this and step #3.
7. Wrap up the banana leaves until it covers all. Pin the banana palm leaf with small skewers/toothpicks in the corner and the middle. *You might want to elaborate how to wrap it with banana leaf. Is it like wrap, like lumpia, or other way?
8. Repeat the 5-7 step for the 6 other pieces of chicken. *the other 6 pieces...
9. Steam the chickens wrapped with banana palm leaf for about 40 minutes.
10. Delicious steamed chickens wrapped with banana palm leaf are ready to serve.

Note:
1. For chickens: Usually in Indonesia, most of recipes use "ayam kampung" (Javanese chickens) for better dishes. "Ayam kampung" is a traditional-raised chicken with low fat under its skin, has yellow-coloured skin and lean and tender meat. It lives freely and searches its food itself.
2. For MSG enhancer: You can either follow the recipe or use another MSG enhancer, like Accent Flavor Enhancer, with your desired measurement.
3. For banana palm leaf: Alternatively, if you can’t find any banana palm leaf, you can look for aluminum foil or cooking paper. *might want to say of why banana leaf is worth the effort (flavor, smell, color, etc. Also, if there is any changes in wrapping if you subs with Al. foil.
 
C S. May 2, 2016
I recommend you refer to the comments on your friend's recipe. Several of the ingredients and the measurements you use are not familiar to many Americans.
In step 2 when you say to puree all the ingredients it is not clear that the chicken is left out of the blender.
I find the reference to MSG enhancer confusing as it is either not included or not explained in the recipe. Also many of us feel that MSG is not a healthy addition to foods.
It sounds delicious - good luck on your report.
 
Irsyaad A. May 2, 2016
Thank you for suggestion. Well, I think mine and my friend's recipe have somehow different translation, but same weakness.

And for step 2, yes, it's not all the ingredients actually, the chickens and the banana palm leaf are not included in the blender.

For MSG enhancer, it is already mentioned in the recipe (re: Knorr All-in-One).

Again, thank you.
 
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