Ayam Masak Pedas (Hot and Spicy Chicken)

When I saw this dish at Azie Kitchen, it reminded me of Ayam Masak Merah. It has the same red fiery appearance but looking at the ingredients, it is a little bit different as it does not contain cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. It is probably the Kelantan version of Ayam Masak Merah.

Since I wanted to cook Nasi Minyak Kelantan, I decided that Ayam Masak Pedas would complement the rice beautifully. I have always loved the combination of Nasi Minyak and Ayam Masak Merah. These are the dishes I look forwards to at Malay weddings.

Marinated chicken steamed over high heat for about 10 minutes.

The recipe requires the marinated chicken to be briefly boiled first before frying but I decided to steam the chicken instead. After the chicken was steamed to precook it, I deep fried it until it was slightly brown around the edges. I usually dread deep frying  (except when making fritters and frying keropok hah! hah!) because it uses up a lot of oil and it makes my kitchen oily. But if it is necessary, then of course I will gladly do it.

Deep fried chicken pieces.

The next process would be to saute the ground spice paste until aromatic and then tomato and chilli sauce is added together with sliced onions and green peas. Simmer the sauce until onions are slightly tender and then the fried chicken pieces are added. Once everything is well mixed, you are done.

Served with Nasi Minyak and accompanying goodies. 

So how did this dish fare? It was delicious, the garlic, ginger and onions made it aromatic while the tomato and chilli sauce made it sweet and tangy. However, I could not help  comparing it to Ayam Masak Merah and I missed the presence of cloves, cardamon and cinnamon. Having said that, these 3 spices in the Nasi Minyak more than made up for their absence in this dish and the pairing was excellent.

Ayam Masak Pedas

Recipe source : Adapted from Azie Kitchen

Ingredients : 

- 3 chicken legs, cut into 9 pieces.

Spice paste :

- 5 dried chillies, soaked to soften

- 2 big onions

- 4 cloves garlic

- 1/2"' ginger

Sauce ingredients :

- 4 tablespoons tomato sauce

- 4 tablespoons chilli sauce

- Salt and sugar to taste

- 2 big onions, sliced

- 1 small can of green peas

Method :

To make the marinade and spice paste :
1. Blend the onions, garlic and ginger first.
2. Remove 2 tablespoons of the blended ingredients.
3. Then add dried chillies into the blender and continue to blend the spice paste.
4. To the 2 tablespoons of blended ingredients, add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Use this to rub all over the chicken pieces and let marinate for 1/2 hour.

To cook the chicken :

1. Steam marinated chicken over high heat for 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil in wok and deep fry the chicken pieces until slightly brown (need not brown all the way through)

3. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

To prepare the sauce :

1. Heat oil in wok and saute the spice paste until aromatic and slightly thick.

2. Add tomato and chilli sauce.

3. Season with salt and sugar.

4. Add the sliced onions and peas. Simmer until onions are slightly tender.

5. Lastly, add fried chicken pieces and stir to coat the chicken pieces with the sauce.

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest Kelantan Month hosted by Gertrude of My Kitchen Snippets.