Make this flavorful and juicy ayam betutu bali with amazing aromatic spices and ingredients using Instant Pot pressure cooker or steamer and then finished cooking in the oven. Recipe is perfect for bebek betutu too.
WHAT IS AYAM BETUTU
Bahasa is a common universal language throughout Indonesia islands, however, each region may have its own dialect too. The Balinese also has its own dialect. Betutu is the Balinese term for using a whole chicken marinated in rich aromatic spices and herbs and then steamed and/or grill. Different regions in Bali also prepare betutu in slightly different way. In Gianyar, the betutu is wrapped in banana leaves, like in this recipe. Ayam betutu is made super spicy in Gilimanung and in Klungkung, the betutu is stuffed with spices and veggies like cassava leaves or kale. This ayam betutu is a hybrid of all three 🙂 though I didn’t make mine too spicy for the sake of my two kiddos.
WHY YOU’LL LIKE THIS RECIPE
1. Can be cooked in a pressure cooker or steamer
I personally prefer a pressure cooker because it yields a really tender chicken without overcooking
2. The recipe is highly adaptable
If you don’t have banana leaves, you can leave it out. If you don’t want it spicy, you can omit the chili. You can even omit the stuffing if you don’t want, or put your own stuffing
HOW TO MAKE AYAM BETUTU BALI
1. PREPARE THE AROMATIC SPICE PASTE
Place all ingredients for spice paste in a food processor. Process into a fine paste. Add all the seasonings and stir to mix.
Pour the spice paste into a large skillet or wok and stir fry until really fragrant.
2. PRECOOK THE VEGGIE
Remove 1/2 of the paste to marinate chicken and leave the other half in the skillet. Add the kale or cassava leaves into the skillet and cook until they are partly wilted. Turn off the heat. Have a taste and season with more salt if needed.
3. STUFF THE CHICKEN
Stuff the kale mixture into the cavity of the chicken. Add the lemongrass stalk in there too.
Rub the remaining spice paste all over the chicken
4. WRAP AND MARINATE
Place one large piece of aluminum foil on the countertop, 2 times bigger than the size of the chicken. Place one large piece of banana leaf on top of the aluminum foil, slightly bigger than the chicken and put another 2 large pieces of banana leaves on top, kinda overlapping to cover the chicken.
Cover with another oversized aluminum foil and wrap the chicken with the foil.
Place this in the refrigerator and let it marinate overnight. Remove from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes before you plan to cook.
5. COOK WITH PRESSURE COOKER OR STEAMER
Pour 2 cups of water inside the inner pot of instant pot. Put a trivet in there. Carefully placed the wrapped chicken on top of the trivet. Cover with the lid and turn the steam release valve to “sealing”. Press “pressure cooker” and make sure it’s on high pressure. The guideline is 6-7 minutes for every pound of chicken.
Bring the water in a steamer to a rolling boil. Place the chicken in the steamer and steam over high heat for 1 hour. You will need to replenish the water halfway if it runs low. Then roast in the preheat oven at 400 F (200 C) for another 45 minutes to 1 hour
6. BROIL THE CHICKEN (OPTIONAL)
Broiling the chicken will give an extra golden brown to the skin. You can skip this if you don’t want to. Carefully remove the foil and the banana leaf covering the top
Broil it on low to create darker skin if you like
Otherwise, you can remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting the chicken.
HOW TO MAKE BEBEK BETUTU WITH THIS RECIPE
Everything is pretty much the same except for cooking time. Cooking time is based on using a whole duck
1. If pressure cooking with Instant pot: Use 10-15 minutes for every pound of duck
2. If steaming: Steam for 2 hours and then bake for another 1 hour or until cooked through
HOW TO TEST IF THE AYAM OR BEBEK BETUTU IS DONE COOKING
Test the doneness by using an instant-read thermometer inserted near the thigh, not touching the bone. Fully-cooked chicken should measure 165 F (74 C) and preferably about 170 F (77 C) for duck.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH AYAM BETUTU
You can serve ayam betutu with any of these or combination of these:
Nasi gurih
Nasi kuning
Plecing kangkung
Sambal matah
So I’m thinking for Thanksgiving, my family never really care for a roast whole turkey, but this ayam betutu got their votes. Perhaps if you want something a bit different and more adventurous, you can try this ayam betutu out 😉
DID YOU MAKE THIS AYAM BETUTU BALI RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
*Recipe is written for 6-quart Instant Pot. Cooking time should remain the same for 8-quart size but will take longer to pressurize. For mini duo (3-quart), I recommend to half the recipe and use the same amount of time to cook. Cooking time doesn’t change because the time is based on the size of your pot not the quantity of the food*
Ayam Betutu Bali (Balinese Spiced Chicken)
Ingredients
- 4 lbs whole chicken 4 lbs max so it fits inside the inner pot of 6-quart instant pot
- 300 gr cassava leaves or use kale roughly chopped
Ground spice paste:
- 15 shallots or 1 large purple/red onion
- 5 candlenuts or use macadamia nuts
- 2 Tbsp sambal oelek or more, optional
- 5 Thai chili optional
- 7 cloves garlic
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- 1 inch kencur root / kaempferia galanga or omit if you don't have any
- 1 inch turmeric or use 2 Tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 inch galangal or use 2 Tbsp galangal powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp terasi (roasted) or use 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 5 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 Tbsp melted coconut oil
Aromatics:
- 1 stalk lemongrass only use the white tender parts, bruised
Seasonings:
- ¼ tsp ground white pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp coconut sugar
- Juice from 1 lime
To wrap the chicken:
- Banana leaves
- Aluminum foil
Serve with:
Instructions
Prepare the ground spice paste:
- Place all ingredients for spice paste in a food processor. Process into a fine paste. Add all the seasonings and stir to mix.
- Pour the spice paste into a large skillet or wok and stir fry until really fragrant. Remove 1/2 of the paste to marinate chicken and leave the other half in the skillet
Precook the veggies:
- Add the kale or cassava leaves into the skillet and cook until they are partly wilted. Turn off the heat. Have a taste and season with more salt if needed
Stuff the chicken with veggies
- Stuff the kale mixture into the cavity of the chicken. Add the lemongrass stalk in there too
Wrap the chicken & marinate the chicken:
- Rub the remaining spice paste all over the chicken. Rinse the banana leaves with clean water and then wipe it dry. Place one large piece of aluminum foil on the countertop, 2 times bigger than the size of the chicken. Place one large piece of banana leaf on top of the aluminum foil, slightly bigger than the chicken and put another 2 large pieces of banana leaves on top, kinda overlapping to cover the chicken. Cover with another oversized aluminum foil and wrap the chicken with the foil. This will also help to secure the banana leaves in there. Place this in the refrigerator and let it marinate overnight. Remove from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for 30 minutes before you plan to cook
If cooking with Instant Pot pressure cooker:
- Pour 2 cups of water inside the inner pot of instant pot. Put a trivet in there. Carefully placed the wrapped chicken on top of the trivet. Cover with the lid and turn the steam release valve to "sealing". Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on high pressure. The guideline is 7-8 minutes for every pound of chicken. Mine has quite a thick breast, so I use 8 minutes per pound and I set the timer to 32 minutes
- When the timer is done, wait for 10 minutes and then release pressure. Unlock the lid and very carefully lift the chicken up and let it rest on a platter for at least 10 minutes before unwrapping, then proceed to the broiling step (optional)
If you choose to steam and roast :
- Bring the water in a steamer to a rolling boil. Place the chicken in the steamer and steam over high heat for 1 hour. You will need to replenish the water halfway if it runs low. 15 minutes before the end of cooking time, preheat oven to 400 F (200 C)
- Place the wrapped chicken on a roasting pan lined with heavy-duty aluminum foil (for easy clean-up).
- Place the pan 3rd rack from the top and let it roast for the next 45 minutes to 1 hour. Test the doneness by using an instant-read thermometer inserted near the thigh, not touching the bone. It should measure 165 F (74 C). If it hasn't reached yet, bake a little longer.
Broil the chicken:
- Carefully remove the foil and the banana leaf covering the top and turn on the broiler. Broil it on low to create darker skin if you like, otherwise, you can remove from the oven and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting the chicken
Serving:
- There will be some juice at the bottom, serve with the juice and the stuffing
