My hubby keeps complaining that the curries he tried at the food outlets are not spicy hot or aromatic enough.
This post was inspired by a recipe from Malaysian Food Fest - Johor shared by Queenie of Semalam Berlalu Esok Menanti. After cooking this, I realised there were so many different versions of this curry and all looks so mouth watering and some are really spicy. This curry is not too spicy basing on my hubby's tastebuds, more chillies can be added [I think he swallowed the food too fast]. Perhaps, I'll try some others with more chillies and decide which one has that 'kick'.
Anyway, this curry is not too bad, very aromatic and fragrant. Best of all, it requires no coconut milk. My brother in-law likes it, he says 'not that sinful' and he finished half a plate of it when I told him no coconut milk in this curry.
[recipe adapted from Queenie of Semalam Berlalu Esok Menanti with some modifications]
800 gm chicken thigh - skinned removed - cut into bite size pieces
some daun kesum
seasoning - salt, sugar and chicken stock granules to taste
2 tbsp tamarind mix with 1/2 bowl water
1 bowl water
1 tsp fenugreek
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
a small piece of belacan
1 cm piece galangal [lengkuas]
20 dried chillies - soaked in hot water, drained and blended till fine [can increase to 30]
3-4 tbsp oil
Ingredients [Ground into Paste]
5 lemongrass
6 shallots
5 cloves garlic
2 cm piece ginger
- Heat oil in pan until hot, saute fenugreek until aromatic. Add blended paste. Fry until fragrant and crispy.
- Add tumeric powder, then chilli paste and belacan. Fry until oil separates.
- Add in the chicken, fry to mix well with spices and until chicken pieces are firm.
- Add in tamarind juice and water. Bring to a boil. Add in seasoning and simmer until chicken is cooked.
- Lastly add in the kesum leaves. Serve curry hot.
Note: Curry tasted even better the next day
hahaha Kimmy, your hubby sure "kaki cili" huh? sama macam anak saya, kuat makan cili, if I makan sampai telinga keluar asap tapi still tak kick for them!
ReplyDeleteI guess you put cili less, I put cili paste 1/2 of blender, can see our asam pedas also different in color, saya punya lebih merah means more hot hehehe and asam pedas ayam should be more thick. One more thing is asam pedas is not curry so no coconut milk added...:), takper Kimmy, lain hari boleh try lagi kan? add more cili...and mesti lebih pekat! :)
thanks for mentioning ya...dont give-up sis!
Looks delicious Kimmy. I should try this for my hubby since there is no coconut milk.
ReplyDeleteHi Kimmy, Your curry indeed looks very appetitising, lunchtime now and I am drooling over it:D I don't cook curries often because too much work!
ReplyDeleteHello Queenie, gembira betul dapat tips2 drp U. Agak berapa cili kering dapat 1/2 blender? I memang suka makanan pedas tanpa santan. Kuah2 ini sedap betul, habis semua.. Tentu cuba selalu dgn lbh cili.
ReplyDeleteHi Esther, we love spreading spicy gravies our rice, that's way I have to choose the healthier versions.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeannie, actually we can get fresh ready mix curry paste at the wet market but most of them lacks the strong aroma/fragrance. So sometimes I blend my own...Yes it a lot of work and you need a variety of ingredients.
ReplyDeleteKimmy, at first I find this strange because asam pedas we usually cook with fish. But I guess it must be very tasty too cooked with chicken. From what you write, it looks like this is a very delicious dish!
ReplyDeleteKimmy, I selalu main agak-agak jer, cili kering tu dalam 2 genggam, it's ok kalau dapat extra sebab kita boleh simpan lebih cili tu, tapi untuk satu ekor ayam, cukup dengan 1/2 blender of cili, kalau nak lebih kick, you pilih cili kering jenis pedas...
ReplyDeletekalau you guna kunyit hidup, lebih sedap actually tapi saya sayang nak kisar kunyit hidup dalam blender sebab getah pada kunyit tu boleh tumpulkan mata pisau blender, so you boleh tumbuk kunyit hidup tu dalam batu lesung, if malas, I guna kunyit serbuk jer hehe
Hi Phong Hong, no venture no gain. We always think meat curries must have coconut milk. Very wrong, I believe there are many, many yummy meat curries that do not require coconut milk..continuing my search.
ReplyDeleteHi Queenie, mak mertua selalu complain dan buang dia punya blender kerana dia selalu kisar kunyit hidup dgnnya. I sayang guna blender I buat begitu, jadi no choice guna serbuk kunyit sajalah.
ReplyDeleteHi Kimmy. This is a lovely curry recipe and I've cooked this chicken dish numerous times. My question relates to the lengkuas. While it is listed as an ingredient, the recipe does not specify how it is used. Could you please elaborate. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi Terry, the lengkuas can be blended together with paste ingredients but I didn't blend it. I added the whole piece to the curry. I was told that adding too much of the lengkuas in the curry makes the taste a little bitter. This ingredient is more for aroma.
ReplyDelete