| 1 | Traditionally, chicken is used for this dish, but chris yeo, chef-owner of the straits cafe, and i experimented with cornish game hens and came up with this winning combination. |
| 2 | Cut hens in half, lengthwise. |
| 3 | Pierce birds all over with a fork; set aside in a large deep bowl. |
| 4 | The rempah: fold the lime leaves in half, then tear off the central vein. |
| 5 | Cut the leaves into very fine shreds; set aside. |
| 6 | Combine the candlenuts, lemon grass, shallots, garlic, chiles and turmeric in a blender or food processor; process into a smooth paste. |
| 7 | If needed, add a tablespoon or so of water to facilitate the blending. |
| 8 | Pour the spice paste into a large bowl. |
| 9 | Before opening, shake the can of coconut milk well. |
| 10 | Then stir the coconut milk into the spice paste along with the sugar, salt and lime leaf shreds; mix thoroughly. |
| 11 | (makes about 3 ?cups). |
| 12 | Pour 1 ?cups of the rempah over the birds; marinate at least 30 minutes. |
| 13 | Reserve remaining marinade. |
| 14 | Preheat oven to 450 °F. |
| 15 | Remove hens from marinade and scrape off excess marinade. |
| 16 | Place hens skin-side up on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. |
| 17 | Turn off the heat and let birds remain in oven for 5 minutes longer. |
| 18 | Remove from the oven. |
| 19 | Meanwhile, set a wok over medium heat. |
| 20 | Add the oil and the reserved rempah. |
| 21 | Gently fry the paste, stirring frequently, until it emulsifies with the oil. |
| 22 | Continue frying until fragrant and the mixture takes on a rich orange color and a porridge-like consistency, about 8 minutes. |
| 23 | The rempah is ready when the oil seeps from mixture and has an orange hue. |
| 24 | (spoon off and discard excess oil). |
| 25 | Keep sauce warm. |
| 26 | Grill birds over glowing red coals until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. |
| 27 | Pour the sauce over the hens and serve with a squeeze of fresh lime. |
| 28 | Per serving: 795 calories, 84 g protein, 14 g carbohydrate, 44 g fat (16 g saturated), 253 mg cholesterol, 965 mg sodium, 1 g fiber. |
| 29 | Tips--joyce says that the 1/3 cup vegetable oil is *necessary* to get the right result so don"t skimp. |
| 30 | To make the rempah, add the hardest ingredients to the food processor or blender first and then the rest in order of softness. |
| 31 | A smooth paste is what you should end up with. |
| 32 | She also mentions that just prior to frying the rempah, you can fry up some fresh chili paste to give the dish some zing. |
| 33 | I"d us sambal oelek for this or the vietnamese tuong ot toi. |
| 34 | No candlenuts? use macadamias instead. |
| 35 | Joyce jue writing in the san francisco chronicle, 6/24/92. |
