Chicken in sweet and spicy tomato sauce (Ayam masak merah)

This classic dish, with its well-balanced flavours, is especially popular with locals in Penang, Kedah and Perlis in the north of Malaysia.

Ayam masak merah (Chicken in sweet and spicy tomato sauce) Credit: Georgia Gold

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 125 ml (½ cup) vegetable oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 star anise
• 2 cardamom pods
• 2 tbsp sugar, or to taste
• 125 ml (½ cup) Malaysian or other hot chilli sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (concentrated purée)
• 125 ml (½ cup) coconut milk
• ½ tsp tamarind paste
• 100 g (¾ cup) frozen baby peas
• 1 large red onion, sliced into rings
• salt
• Tomato rice and Malay-style vegetable medley, to serve

Turmeric chicken

• 1 x 1.8 kg chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 tbsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp salt, or to taste
• vegetable oil, for pan-frying

Chilli paste

• 1 large red onion, roughly chopped
• 5 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp Malaysian chilli paste
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Marinating time: 15 minutes

Instructions

1. To make the turmeric chicken, place the chicken in a glass or ceramic bowl, add the turmeric and salt and massage it into the skin. Leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan over medium heat until hot and a little smoky. Working in batches, gently drop the marinated chicken into the oil and cook for 5 minutes. You want it to be half-cooked and nicely golden. Remove and drain on a plate lined with paper towel. Leave half the oil in the pan.
3. To make the chilli paste, place all the ingredients in a blender or a food processor and blend to a smooth paste.
4. Heat the reserved oil from the chicken over medium heat. Add the chilli paste and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until aromatic and darker in colour. Add the cinnamon stick, star anise and cardamom pods and stir well. Add the sugar, chilli sauce and tomato paste and stir for another 10–15 seconds. Add the half-cooked chicken and mix everything together, then cook for 2–4 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in the coconut milk, tamarind paste, peas and sliced onion, and season to taste with salt. Serve with the tomato rice and Malay-style vegetable medley.

 

Penang Local by Aim Aris and Ahmad Salim, published by Smith Street Books (RRP $39.99). Photography by Georgia Gold. 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.