Spicy Tomato Chicken Ayam Masak Merah Food

CHICKEN IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE

Steps:

• Wash chicken pieces drain and pat dry with paper towels. Rub all over with ground turmeric and salt until evenly coated. Set aside.
• To use lemongrass: Cut the bottom root portion off the base. Slice the bottom one-third (3-inch) section only, discard the rest. Slice at an angle,and as thinly as possible.
• Roughly chop up red chilli peppers and bird's eye chillies (or substitute bird's eye chillies with 1 tbsp chilli powder). Peel and roughly chop shallots, garlic and ginger.
• In a food processor, blend the spice ingredients until you get the paste as smooth and fine-textured as possible. Add 1 to 2 tbsps oil or water (use more or less as needed) to help the blades cut into the mix. Set aside.
• Separately, prepare the cinnamon bark, star anise, cloves and cardamom pods.
• Fill a wok or deep skillet one-quarter full with oil and heat up over medium heat until hot. Fry the chicken pieces in batches, 5 to 6 pieces at a time. Par-fry for 2 minutes, until the pieces are lightly browned and half-cooked. Set aside.
• In the same wok, drain most of the oil, leaving behind 4 tbsps. With the oil still hot, and the heat reduced to low, put in the cinnamon bark, star anise, cloves and cardamom pods. Fry for 15 to 20 seconds, or until fragrant.
• Pour in the blended spice paste, sugar, salt, and stir frequently to prevent the paste from burning. If it gets too dry, add an additional 1 to 2 tbsp of oil. Once the paste starts to stick or clump together, has an oily sheen, and oil froths or bubbles around the edges, it is ready for the next step.
• Stir in the tomato puree, coconut milk, ketchup, and water. Increase the heat and bring the sauce to a gentle oil. The reduce the heat slightly, to keep the sauce at a gentle simmer. Let the sauce reduce by almost half. Caution: This sauce can spit and spurt quite vigorously, so have an apron on and be careful when you give it the occasional stir.)
• Put in the chicken pieces, including the oils and drippings, and stir to evenly coat all over with the sauce. Let the chicken braise gently. Continue to let sauce reduce until 'pecah minyak', that is, the oil splits. This is when oil begins to separate from the sauce, forming beads or pools on the surface (read notes below). The end consistency of the sauce should be thick and pasty.
• Stir in the peas, palm sugar (or light brown sugar) and salt, and cook for a few more minutes till just softened. Do a taste test and add more sugar or salt, to taste. Turn off the heat. Dish out immediately into a serving dish, and garnish lavishly with chopped cilantro or parsley.

AYAM MASAK MERAH (CHICKEN IN SPICY TOMATO SAUCE)

Steps:

• Preparing Chicken. Rub chicken with turmeric and salt. Set aside for 30 minutes. Heat up the oil in a wok and deep fry the chicken pieces until golden in colour. Set aside.
• Roughly chopped red onion, ginger, galangal and lemongrass, then transfer to a blender or food processors. Add in chillies and garlic. Process into a paste.
• Heat up the wok with ½ cup of oil. Sauté the spices : Cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cardamom until fragrant. Then add in the blended paste. Bring the heat up until the paste bubble then lower the heat. Simmer till the paste is thoroughly cooked, fragrant and the oil separates from the paste (pecah minyak). Add in canned tomato soup, coconut milk and chicken pieces. Bring up the heat for a quick boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickened. Add peas and season with salt to taste. Garnish with some spring onion before serving.

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.