Ayam masak merah: Malaysian chicken in spiced tomato sauce

Fried chicken simmered in a rich, sweet-sour red sauce of tomato, chilli and warm spices, a Malay festival favourite. This version is gentle enough for children, with extra chilli to add at the table.

Ingredients

• 800 g Chicken thighs, boneless and skinless, halved
• 3 g Ground turmeric
• 4 g Salt
• 40 ml Vegetable oil
• 2 Onions, roughly chopped
• 0.4 Garlic
• 20 g Fresh ginger
• 2 Lemongrass, tender part only, chopped
• 10 g Paprika
• 1 g Dried chilli flakes, or more for heat
• 1 Cinnamon sticks
• 2 g Star anise
• 2 g Cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 400 g Chopped tomatoes
• 30 g Tomato purée
• 15 g Soft brown sugar
• 200 ml Coconut milk
• 150 g Frozen peas
• 320 g Jasmine rice

Method

1. Rub the chicken with the turmeric and half the salt.
2. Blitz the onions, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, paprika and chilli flakes to a paste with a splash of water.
3. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the chicken in batches until golden on both sides. Lift out.
4. Add the cinnamon, star anise and cardamom to the oil for 30 seconds, then the spice paste. Fry, stirring, until it darkens and smells sweet rather than raw.
5. Stir in the chopped tomatoes, tomato purée, sugar, the rest of the salt and the coconut milk. Return the chicken and simmer until cooked through and the sauce is thick.
6. Meanwhile cook the rice in a lidded pan with 480ml water on the lowest heat once boiling.
7. Stir in the peas for the last 3 minutes. Pick out the whole spices and serve with the rice.