Balinese Chicken Lawar Recipe

Chicken, freshly grated coconut, green beans, and bits of thin egg omelet bound in a rich coconut milk and sambal-flavored sauce.

By
Yvonne Ruperti
A photo of Yvonne Ruperti, a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Yvonne Ruperti
Yvonne Ruperti is a food writer, recipe developer, former bakery owner, and cookbook author. She is also an adjust professor of baking at the Culinary Institute of America in Singapore.
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Updated May 03, 2024
Balinese chicken lawar served in a wooden bowl beside a bowl of white rice

Serious Eats / Yvonne Ruperti

Why It Works

  • This warm chopped salad can be served with or without a protein.
  • Although the ingredients list is long, you can find much of it at your local Asian grocery store.

Last month I had the chance to visit Bali, one heck of an amazing island in Indonesia. Sure, the beaches and the spa massages are pretty cool, but what I was really interested in was the food. While driving through a town called Ubud, high in the mountains inland, we stopped at a cafe and I noticed a dish on the menu that I'd never heard of: lawar. Total serendipity. I was treated to one of the tastiest and unique meals from the trip.

There are a few varieties of lawar, but generally, it's a warm chopped salad of sorts, with or without a protein (such as chicken or pork). Mine came with freshly grated coconut, green beans, and bits of thin egg omelet all tied together with a rich coconut milk and sambal-flavored sauce. I had to learn how to make it.

Making lawar can seem as daunting as assembling a bookcase from Ikea. There's a ton of little ingredients and a handful of exotic ingredients. This is not a pantry staple dish so plan a trip to your local Asian grocery store. There are also a few steps to push through before even cooking the dish: processing a sambal (the flavor base of the recipe), crisping up some shallots, and cooking the omelet. But that said, each step is easy. The hardest part is deciding what to do with your leftover ingredients. If you're up for a challenge or hankering to channel your inner Eat, Pray, Love, then a lawar can definitely make it happen.

May 2013

Recipe Details

Balinese Chicken Lawar Recipe

Prep 15 mins
Cook 45 mins
Active 60 mins
Total 60 mins
Serves 4 servings

Ingredients

For the Sambal:

  • 1 medium shallot, peeled and quartered

  • 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled

  • 2 candlenuts

  • 2 Thai green chiles (chopped)

  • 1/2-inch piece fresh turmeric, chopped (or 1 teaspoon ground turmeric)

  • 1/2-inch piece fresh ginger

  • 1/2-inch piece lemongrass (white part only), chopped

  • 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

  • 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds

  • Pinch ground cloves

  • Pinch ground nutmeg

For the Lawar:

  • 8 ounces green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided

  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten

  • 2 makrut lime leaves, finely sliced

  • 1 pound ground chicken

  • 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock

  • 1/2 cup coconut milk

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon grated palm sugar (or light brown sugar)

  • 1 cup fresh grated coconut (or 3/4 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut))

To Serve:

  • 1/4 cup homemade or store-bought fried shallots

  • Steamed rice to serve on the side

Directions

  1. For the sambal: Place all the ingredients for the sambal in a food processor and process until mixture forms a paste, about 30 seconds; set aside.

  2. For the lawar: In medium saucepan, bring 4 cups water to boil. Cook beans to crisp tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to large bowl to cool.

  3. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Pour in beaten eggs and swirl to coat entire bottom of pan with a thin layer of egg. Cover and cook until just cooked through (top won't look wet), 30 seconds to a minute. Slide the egg omelette onto cutting board. When cool, roll up into a log. Cut the log in half lengthwise, then cut into 1-inch strips.

  4. In same skillet, heat remaining oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add sambal and kaffir lime leaves and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken and cook, breaking up into small pieces, until almost cooked through, about 4 minutes.

  5. Pour in chicken broth, coconut milk, and salt. Simmer until liquid is slightly thickened and gently coats chicken. Transfer to large bowl with the cooked green beans and gently toss with the egg and coconut.

  6. Transfer to serving bowl, top with crispy shallots, and serve with steamed rice.

Special Equipment

12-inch non-stick skillet with lid

Notes

The cooking is easy, but there are multiple parts to this dish, so it may take a bit of time to prepare. The ingredient list is long, a common theme in many Southeast Asian dishes. Candlenuts are an Indonesian nut with a waxy texture. The flavor is mild in this dish, but the nut adds body to the sambal. If unable to find them, try substituting macadamia nuts. Makrut lime leaves impart a fragrant citrusy flavor and aroma, but you can substitute 1 teaspoon lime zest added at the end of cooking (the flavor won't be quite the same though). Look for these ingredients in your local Asian grocery store.

Read More

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
495Calories
38gFat
16gCarbs
27gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories495
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 38g49%
Saturated Fat 16g80%
Cholesterol 184mg61%
Sodium 710mg31%
Total Carbohydrate 16g6%
Dietary Fiber 5g18%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 27g
Vitamin C 10mg49%
Calcium 79mg6%
Iron 4mg23%
Potassium 974mg21%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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