← Nouns Cooking · Malaysian & Singaporean

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg bone-in chicken pieces, cut into 10–12 pieces
• 1 tsp Ground turmeric
• 1 tsp Salt
• 120 ml oil, for shallow-frying
• 12 Dried chillies, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes, drained
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves Garlic
• 3 cm piece Ginger
• 2 cm piece Galangal
• 2 Lemongrass, white part only, sliced
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 2 Star anise
• 4 Cloves
• 3 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 3 Tomato, chopped
• 2 tbsp Tomato purée (paste)
• 4 tbsp Ketchup
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• 250 ml Water
• 1 tsp Salt
• 100 g Peas (optional)
• 100 ml Coconut milk (optional)
• 1 Red onion, sliced into rings

Method

1. Rub the chicken with the turmeric and salt and leave it for 15 min while you blend the chillies, onion, garlic, ginger, galangal and lemongrass with a splash of water into a smooth paste.
2. Heat the oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Shallow-fry the chicken in batches for 4–5 min per side until golden but not cooked through, and set aside. Pour off all but about 3 tbsp of the oil.
3. Fry the cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cardamom in the remaining oil for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the paste and fry over medium heat for 8–10 min, stirring often, until it darkens, smells sweet and the oil splits out around the edges.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, ketchup and sugar and cook for 3–4 min until the tomatoes soften. Add the water, salt and chicken and turn everything to coat.
5. Simmer, partly covered, for 15–20 min, turning the chicken now and then, until the sauce is thick and clinging and the chicken reaches 75°C (165°F) by the bone. Add the peas and coconut milk (if using) for the last 3 min.
6. Taste: it should be sweet, tangy and gently hot. Scatter with onion rings and serve with nasi tomato, nasi minyak or plain rice.

Tips

• Frying the paste until the oil separates (pecah minyak) is what gives the sauce its depth; if it is still pale and raw-smelling, keep going.
• Make a double batch of the spice paste and freeze half in ice-cube trays for next time.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Nomadette What To Cook Today Singaporean Malaysian Recipes