Ayam Masak Merah

Ayam Masak Merah or directly translated as Red Cooked Chicken is one of my favorite side dishes of all time. But I think, I'll translated them as Chicken cooked in spicy tomato sauce. It has the sweet and sour taste from tomatoes (and apparently sugar) and slightly spicy. If you been reading this blog for a while, you will know that I'm a fan of spicy food. 

I've never learned the proper way to make this dish. But I watched my best friend cooked this dish once, and I remembered the steps and ingredients. Anyway, this dish would usually be eaten as side dish. We usually have them with our biryani or tomato rice.

Ayam Masak Merah

1/2 medium size chicken - cut into desired size

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 cinnamon stick

4 clove

2 star anise

4 cardamom

1 medium sized onion

4 shallot

3 garlic

1 inch ginger

2 tbsp chili paste

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 medium sized tomato - cut into wedges

1 medium sized onion - cut into rings

salt as needed

oil for frying

1. Heat oil under medium fire.

2. Combine chicken with turmeric powder and salt. Deep fry chicken and set aside.

3. Blend onion, shallot, garlic and ginger into a paste. Set aside.

4. In a different sauce pot, heat oil under medium fire. Add in cinnamon stick, clove, star anise and cardamom and stir until fragrant.

5. Add in the onion paste and stir for 30 second. Then, add in chili paste and stir for 1 minute. Add in one tablespoon of sugar to caramelized the chili paste. Stir until the chilies are cooked. 

6. Add in tomato paste and ketchup. You may add in some water if you want the sauce to be thin.

7. Add in the fried chicken, and combine well. Pour in the coconut milk.

8. Add in tomato and onion. You may also add in some green peas to make the dish even more attractive. Mix well. Then, it's ready to serve. Best eaten as side dishes with rice.

My mom actually told me a few other tips to make the chicken taste even more delicious! I'll share the recipe and tips once I experimented with it :)