Best 2 Ayam Masak Merah A Malay Red Chicken Curry Recipes

AYAM MASAK MERAH (A MALAY RED CHICKEN CURRY)

Steps:

• Rub the chicken with the turmeric and 1 tsp of salt and set aside for about 15-20 minutes while you get everything else ready. Or, if you have the time, leave it to marinate for 1 hour. Be sure to cover it.
• Chop the onion, slice the bottom half of the lemongrass into rings, and slice the ginger for easier chopping.
• Place everything into a chopper and chop to a fairly fine paste, adding 1-2 tablespoon of water if necessary. Set aside.
• Cut to lemongrass about halfway up, and lose the top half. Bruise the lemongrass by pounding down on its base with the back of your knife. You can read more about how to use lemongrass here.
• Slice the large onion into rings and set aside.
• Heat the 60ml of oil on medium-high heat, in a large saucepan, with the tsp of sugar. Brown the chicken in batches. You only want to do this briefly, about a minute each side. We don't want to cook the chicken, just give it some colour.
• When done on both sides, place the browned chicken on kitchen paper lined plates.
• We'll use the same saucepan. Pour out most of the oil, leaving about 2 Tbsp of still in the saucepan. On medium heat, and fry the cinnamon, cloves and star anise for 30 seconds, don't let them burn.
• Add the ground paste and lemongrass and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring regularly. Scrape the base of the pan to incorporate all the sticky bits from the chicken earlier.
• Add the tomato paste and ketchup and stir well.
• Add the chicken, stirring to coat the meat with all that delicious paste.. Add the water, stir and let it come to a boil.
• Lower the heat right down and simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked, about 30 - 45 minutes, depending on size and part. Meat on the bone, drumsticks and legs are going to take longer than boneless breast meat.
• Five minutes before the end of cooking time, add the sliced onion rings, stir and leave to simmer. If the curry is too dry for you, add a little water, perhaps no more than 125ml (½ cup). You don't want to dilute the flavours in the curry.
• When the chicken is cooked, check the seasoning. Add more salt if you think it needs it.

SPICY TOMATO CHICKEN (AYAM MASAK MERAH)

Steps:

• Rub the chicken with turmeric powder and salt. Set aside. Soak the dried red chile peppers in hot water until softened. Blend the softened dried chile, fresh red chile pepper, garlic, onion, and ginger in a blender to a paste.
• Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in the hot oil until golden on all sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside. Remove excess oil from the skillet, leaving about 1 tablespoon. Cook and stir the chile paste with the cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cardamom seeds until fragrant. Return the chicken to the skillet. Stir in the water, adding more if needed. Toss in the tomatoes and stir in the ketchup and sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until no the chicken longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.