Why did the chicken cross the road?

This is a famous riddle/joke having a long history. As the yarn goes, it has been posed to ordinary people as well as to famous thinkers.  Some of the answers were very fascinating and some others very hilarious. One of my best liked answers has come from none other than Isaac Newton. According to the one who imagined the answer that Newton would have given, ... "Chickens at rest tend to stay rest. Chickens in motion tend to cross roads". The one who tried to think like Einstein has answered... “Whether the chicken crossed the road or the road moved beneath the chicken depends upon your frame of reference”.

While sitting in a thought provoking conference session on “Low Carbon Transport” in Bogor, Indonesia during the last three days, some chicken questions popped in mind. Why did the chicken run away that evening in Yogyakarta? Why did the chicken cross the road full of traffic? Did the chicken use low-carbon transport to cross the road? Do chickens produce low-carbon food for us?

Chicken is almost a staple food in Asian countries. Asian food traditions have contributed popular chicken dishes like Tandoori Chicken, Hainan Chicken, Spring Chicken, and Chicken Massaman curry to the international food scene. Colonel Sanders has popularized Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) to be an internationally popular chicken dish but KFC cannot beat the Indonesian version of fried chicken – Ayam Goreng – for crispiness and flavor. It is Indonesia’s contribution to the international chicken seen. It does not have the chunkiness of KFC but it certainly has authentic chicken flavor due to the use of Kampung (village) chicken.

I was first introduced to Ayam Goreng in Yogyakarta by my colleague Henrika around 2004. At that time, we were establishing a community-based water supply cooperative in a kampung on the Code River bank. Henrika was very eager to show me the heritage monuments in Yogya whenever we got some spare time. She accompanied me to the Borobudur World Heritage site, Prambanan temple, Taman Sari water castle, Sultan palace and Kotagede silver craft village.

                                                                               Borobudur temple

                                                                      Tamansari water castle (Spa)

                                                                                  A street in Kota Geede

Visiting the Borobudur temple was an unforgettable experience for me. It is the most visited monument in Indonesia. It consists of six square platforms and 3 circular platforms placed in a pyramidal form. The central stupa is placed at the top of the last circular platform and surrounded by small perforated stupas with seated Buddha images inside them. 

Borobudur is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. It has been built in the 9th century following Buddhist cosmic traditions and to epitomize the attainment of Nirwana. The imposing Merapi volcano provides a mystic backdrop to Borobudur and harmonizes in form. Merapi is an active volcano. Every time I stayed in a hotel in Yogya I requested a room with Merapi view. It is such a magnificent sight to behold when the sky is cloudless and blue. I could even see it erupting during one of my visits.

                                                Merapi volcano set a backdrop to Borobudur Temple

My other favorite place to visit in Yogya is Malioboro Street. It is a popular place among tourists and locals alike. Its conserved streetscape is full of batik shops, craft shops and eateries. 

                                                                     Malioboro Street scene

Yogya is also famous as an education city. It has more than 25 universities and higher education institutes. After a tiring day of studies and research, thousands of students visit Malioboro Street to enjoy savory ayam gorengs, mie gorengs, nasi gorengs, satays and tempehs from ubiquitous street food stalls. Among them ayam goring seems to be the most sought after dish. The Yogya version of ayam goreng is called ayam goreng kalasan/kremes. It is made by boiling village chicken with a spice paste and then deep frying till crispy.

Henrika introduced me to a famous local brand of ayam goreng. The brand carries the name of a Madame who was believed to have a secret recipe. The Madame’s ayam goreng looks so different from the commonly available ayam goreng versions throughout Indonesia. Its golden brown, crispy look and the fluffy granule topping are so appealing. Colonel Sanders would have spent a fortune to get that recipe. I immediately liked it just for its appearance. Once inside the mouth it flakes and disintegrates like no other fried chicken. It is so unique compared to the rubbery and oily version of KFC and its copycats.

The Madame’s branded restaurants are located in the major cities of Indonesia. Since that first time I made sure to visit one of those restaurants whenever I visit Jakarta, Yogyakarta or Bandung. One evening Henrika and I were coming back from a tiring field visit. I requested Henrika to stopover at the Madame’s ayam goreng restaurant for a quick supper. While waiting for our order I saw a huge rat coming from the side of the kitchen and darting across the dining hall. For a moment I thought that it is one of Madame’s chicken escaping from the kitchen. It ran towards the front road and disappeared. Suddenly I knew the answer for the famous riddle – Why did the chicken cross the road? ….. It was to escape from the knife of Madame.


Needless to say that I immediately lost my appetite and barely touched the fluffy and crispy chicken that arrived at our table soon after. I did not say anything to Henrika and offend her. I just pretended nothing happened. That was my last visit to Madame’s restaurants anywhere in Indonesia. However, it did not stop me from tasting delicious ayam goreng’s elsewhere.

This is a recipe that I tried once at home.

Ayam Goreng Kremes (Deep fried chicken with crispy Kreme flakes)

Ingredients

6 pieces of chicken cuts

2 bay leaves

6 cloves garlic

6 shallots

6 candle nuts (can substitute with cashew nuts)

1 stalk lemon grass

2 tbsp coriander powder

2 tbsp all purpose flour

2 tbsp rice flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1½ cup water

Oil for deep frying

1. Grind garlic, shallots, candle nuts, coriander powder into a paste.

2. Coat the chicken pieces with the spice paste and place in a saucepan.  Lightly bruise bay leaves and lemon grass stalk and place over the chicken. Add salt and sugar.

3. Pour water over chicken, cover with a lid and bring to a boil. After that simmer for 15 minutes

4. Remove chicken from the pot and set aside to cool.

5. Strain the cooking liquid and mix it with two kinds of flour and baking powder to form a thin batter

6. Deep fry chicken until crispy and golden brown and place on oil absorbing paper.

7. Carefully place droplets of batter in the same hot oil and fry until golden brown. Scoop it and place on oil absorbing paper.

8. Serve chicken topped with crispy Kreme flakes.  

(Note: All pictures were obtained from Google)