Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

Stephen Ceideburg
6 Cornish game hens
10 Kaffir lime leaves, or fresh
-lime leaves
6 Candlenuts, soaked in water
-for 10 minutes, or
-substitute skinless almonds
5 Stalks fresh lemon grass,
-trimmed, sliced
10 lg Shallots, peeled and halved,
-or 2 onions
10 Garlic cloves, peeled,
-halved
8 Red jalapeno chiles,
-stemmed,seeded
1 ts Turmeric
13 1/2 oz Coconut milk
3 tb Sugar
1 tb Salt
1/3 c Vegetable oil
1 Lime, cut into wedges

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.

Cut hens in half, lengthwise. Pierce birds all over with a fork; set
aside in a large deep bowl.

The rempah: Fold the lime leaves in half, then tear off the central
vein. Cut the leaves into very fine shreds; set aside.

Combine the candlenuts, lemon grass, shallots, garlic, chiles and
turmeric in a blender or food processor; process into a smooth paste.
If needed, add a tablespoon or so of water to facilitate the blending.

Pour the spice paste into a large bowl. Before opening, shake the can
of coconut milk well. Then stir the coconut milk into the spice paste
along with the sugar, salt and lime leaf shreds; mix thoroughly.
(Makes about 3 1/2 cups).

Pour 1 1/2 cups of the rempah over the birds; marinate at least 30
minutes. Reserve remaining marinade. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Remove hens from marinade and scrape off excess marinade.

Place hens skin-side up on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let birds remain in oven for 5 minutes longer.
Remove from the oven.

Meanwhile, set a wok over medium heat. Add the oil and the reserved
rempah. Gently fry the paste, stirring frequently, until it
emulsifies with the oil. Continue frying until fragrant and the
mixture takes on a rich orange color and a porridge-like consistency,
about 8 minutes.

The rempah is ready when the oil seeps from mixture and has an orange
hue. (Spoon off and discard excess oil.) Keep sauce warm. Grill birds
over glowing red coals until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.
Pour the sauce over the hens and serve with a squeeze of fresh lime.

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.

Tips--Joyce says that the 1/3 cup vegetable oil is *necessary* to get
the right result so don't skimp. To make the rempah, add the hardest
ingredients to the food processor or blender first and then the rest
in order of softness. A smooth paste is what you should end up with.
She also mentions that just prior to frying the rempah, you can fry
up some fresh chili paste to give the dish some zing. I'd us sambal
oelek for this or the Vietnamese tuong ot toi. No candlenuts? Use
macadamias instead.

Joyce Jue writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, 6/24/92.

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