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Ayam Masak Merah (Chicken in Spicy Tomato Sauce)
August 29th, 2011Recipes, Malaysian Recipes, Recipes40 Comments
Tomorrow is Hari Raya or Eid, the biggest Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, or the Islamic holy month of fasting. As a Malaysian, we celebrate all festivities (regardless of our race and ethnicity) with food, food, and more food, and that’s why I invited one of my favorite Malaysian food bloggers Lisa at My Lemony Kitchen to share a classic Malaysian recipe with us: Ayam Masak Merah or Chicken in Creamy Spicy Tomato Sauce. My Lemony Kitchen is an excellent food blog with lots of delicious recipes: Malaysia, Asian, western, baking, you name it and you’ll have it. For my Muslim readers, I wish you all “Selamat Hari Raya” or Happy Eid.
I am honoured to receive an invite from Bee of Rasa Malaysia, to guest post on her beautiful blog. Thank you, Bee…
I was ecstatic but at the same time…was feeling nervous…what shall I cook? How shall I present my post? Everyone in the food blogging community knows Bee and her beautiful blog—Rasa Malaysia. Lucky me, Bee had made it easier by suggesting Ayam Masak Merah or chicken cooked in rich creamy spicy tomato sauce.
Mentioned Ayam Masak Merah to a Kedahan (Kedah is a state in the far North of Malaysia), would immediately evoke memories of “traditional Malay weddings” and Hari Raya or Eid Celebration. Yes…Ayam Masak Merah is not an everyday affair in a typical household in Kedah. It is a unique dish to be enjoyed on special occasions… served with Nasi Minyak or Savoury Rice, fresh salad of cucumber, pineapple, cut-up chillies and red onions.
Ayam Masak Merah has unique flavours, the taste is beautiful and unforgettable although it shares some basic similar spices (cinnamon, cloves, star anise and chillies) to Chicken Curry. It is distinctively different, be it in the texture of the chicken or the tantalizing flavours in the sauce.
The chicken pieces are rubbed in with turmeric and salt and are deep fried till golden in colour. Deep frying seals the juice as well as it gives the chicken pieces, a firmer texture to every bite. The pieces are then added to the simmering sauce. This gives the chicken, its rich flavour, with its subtle heat from the chillies, sweet and sour-ish taste from the tomato soup combine with creaminess from coconut milk.
Moslems in Malaysia and around the world will be celebrating Hari Raya Aidil Fitri or Eid Mubarak tomorrow, perhaps Ayam Masak Merah could be one of the dish that you might want to cook and join in the Celebration.
(Click Page 2 for the Ayam Masak Merah Recipe)
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That looks so yummy! And you are so right about pairing it with nasi minyak. Perfect combo! I recall devouring ayam masak merah during kenduri and what not :)
Thank you Bee, for sharing your ‘kitchen’… and the wonderful opportunity… :D
Lisa, this looks so delicious! I’ve never tried this dish before but it sounds yummy and goes well with savory rice like you mentioned. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us. :-)
Looking Delicious :)
Finger licking good!
That is a mouthwatering dish! So tempting looking and full of flavor.
Cheers,
Rosa
very good food,,,,,so nice friend……!! I am from india chef swapan sikder,,,,,,
Delicious recipe! This is always my favourite dish with rice. Well done on the guest post, Lisa.
Fasting today. 2moro is Eid, where I live.
Looks yummy! Must include it in the menu, for our guests.
Eid Mubarak Every One!
I enjoyed reading Lisa’s recipes. Thanks for sharing.
when was the last time i had it?should be more then 10yrs ago!am followed your recipe,result…..fantastic yuumy,thank you Bee!
i was just watching AFC on chef wan this afternoon and he was cooking this ayam masak merah along with 2 other rendang dishes. I’m not really sure if i had eaten this dish, maybe i have but didnt know the name and it sure looks so attractive and unique flavour due to the ketchup and the spices in it. Wonderful guest post and so appropriate during this festive season!
This looks and sounds so yummy!
Lovely recipe full of flavors.. The color is so pretty. I want some with rice.Good Job Lisa!
It looks gorgeous and is a lovely rich colour. I’d love to try this.
I have never had this, but by the look of it I am sure I’d love it…! It reminds me of the Indonesian ‘Ayam Bumbu Rujak’ which I adore!
Absolutely beautiful dish, Lisa! I don’t believe I have had this before but thanks to your recipe, I might just try to cook this to taste it.
wow…so hungry now! and I am going to try your recipe today ! Missing the Raya’s cuisine here…;-)
waaaah! this is my second time to encounter this recipe in my blogroll. hahaha this means i have to make it! haha i’m filipino and i’ve never made this before, but i’d like to believe this is definitely a must try. the pictures i’ve seen were mouthwatering. :)
Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe,can’t wait to try it!
Please tell me how much turmeric/turmeric powder I should use to rub the meat.
Wish me luck!!!
Tumeric ~ about 1 teaspoon.
Happy trying :D
Thank you everyone for your kind comments and wonderful feedback :D
Most delicious looking, I love this dish and eat this at least once a month! yummy!
Beautiful photos by Lisa! Ayam masak merah just reminds me of ayam masak habang, a Kalimantan chicken cooked in red chili sauce. Habang = Merah :)
Perfect for Eid!
I love this recipe!! Have bookmarked it and will def cook it for a special occasion =)
I loved this recipe.. Planning to make it in the next week.
I have a question, can we omit galangal or is there any other substitute for it? Will the dish taste as wonderful even without galangal?
You can omit, if not use ginger.
Alamak, I cooked this yesterday but totally forgot to add lemongrass & galangal. It still tastes okay especially the following day when the spices infuse deeper into the sauce.
Thanks! This looks so good!
instead of deep frying can we just put the chicken directly?
instead of deep frying can we just put the chicken directly or how about shallow fry?
Deep-frying or it won’t taste authentic!
I cooked this today. I like the taste but the coconut milk has a taste. I live in Minnesota and I bought the Aroy-D coconut milk for cooking. Any suggestion what type of coconut milk is the best to get in USA/
made this last night…. was a hit!!! thank you!!!
I used my new gadget to “fry” the chicken (without oil) and it turned out great!!!!
I just cooked this and it looks very different from the picture. I wonder if it is tomato paste rather than tomato soup being used.
oOPS… I spoke to soon. I let it simmer longer and it started to look good. Still not the same though. :P
Where i live , u dont get lemongrass. So can i use any other substitute? plz let me know. coz i plan to make this dish very soon & it looks really yummy in da pic
Where can I get all these amazing spices TT
I love Ayam Masak Merah and will cook this tonight for Ramadan. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
GSN: Depending where you live (I live on US East Coast) many of the bigger grocery stores now have an Indian or Oriental/ International sections for these spices. If not, they are easily obtained from an Indian grocery market (I’m assuming you are not living in Malaysia or Singapore). Many Asian supermarkets in bigger cities also stock these basic spices as well as galangal and lemongrass -they’re now easier to obtain now thanks to a bigger interest in Thai and East Asian cooking in this country. Of course, nothing beats getting these items fresh from home.
Hi, was wondering what kind of canned tomato soup (the creamy ones?) Or which brand do u normally use? Missing this dish and I’m planning to cook it during Ramahdan.