Hot Chilli Chicken @ Ayam Masak Merah

Let the sambal settle for a couple of minutes to let the flavours infuse together

I'm seeing red! HOT RED! This is one malay dish which you'll see me running into the kitchen everytime Mommy cooks it. ONE of the dishes that I'll have my rice and eat them all. I'm NOT a rice person and tend to opt it out of my meals. But it'll be an exception if Mommy cooks Basmati which was seldom. Now, living on my own, I ONLY have Basmati in that storage pot. I just love those long grains bestest.

Thus today, I cooked an all time favourite Malay dish 'Ayam Masak Merah'. There'll be vatieties of version out there but I'll stick to mine alrite. It's a rather 'dry' dish and combines well with a plate of steaming rice. A little vege dish as side would complete the meal. It's the basic ingredient of sambal which is important. Get it right and you'll be on your way to numerous dishes ahead. Unthinkable ones too!

Once in a while, I'll make a batch of these sambal and store them in an air tight container for future use. It's great with everything. Poultries, meats, seafoods, eggs, veges, noodles, pastas etc. Its an ideal base for many asian households. I know Mommy would have a huge tub of this tucked inside her fridge. Bratsy Sista and Bro like to do up sambal in scramled eggs. Utter delicious!

Today, it'll be a treat for "B". An average home-cooked meal which we both love.

Ingredients for Sambal - blend all
20 dried chillies
2 large onions
3 garlics
1cm young ginger
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Ingredients for Ayam Masak Merah
sambal
canola oil
6 pieces chicken
1 lemongrass - smashed
1 lime/kaffir leaf
salt to taste
Method
Heat up oil and fry in sambal till split oil or when the fragrance rose. Throw in the lemongrass and lime leaf. Add in the chicken pieces and salt to taste. Cover with a lid and simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Make sure you cook a double portions of rice. Trust me, you'll go for a second serving. fralalaa...