• ~500g chicken thighs/drumsticks
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 chilli and turmeric powders
• juice from 1/4 lime
• oil for frying

• 4-5 tbsp peanut oil/ cooking oil
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
• 2 pandan leaves, knotted
• 3 kaffir lime leaf halves
• 1 lemongrass, bruised
• 1 star anise
• 2cm cinnamon piece
• 2 cloves
• 2 (slightly spicy) or 3 (spicy) heaped tbsp chilli paste*
• 1 tbsp concentrated tomato paste
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp tamarind water**
• 2 tbsp coconut sugar/brown sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 medium ripe tomato, roughly chopped
• cherry tomatoes, halved
• coriander leaves
• cut green chilli

Method

1. In a non-reactive bowl, marinate chicken pieces with salt, chilli,turmeric and lime. Set aside for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat enough oil in a medium-large pot for deep drying chicken pieces. Fry chicken pieces till golden brown and almost cooked. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

3. In another large saucepan/ wok, over medium heat, warm the  peanut oil.

4. Saute onions in hot oil with a pinch of salt till they start to brown at the edges. Add chopped garlic and ginger. Keep stirring with a ladle to prevent over browning.

5. Add pandan leaves, keffir lime leaves, lemongrass, star anise, cinnamon, cloves and keep stirring mixture with ladle until onions are golden brown.

6. Add chilli and tomato pastes, soy and fish sauces, coconut sugar, tamarind water and cook till oil separates from the mixture. (see photo above)

7. Add fried chicken pieces, water and chopped tomato. Cook uncovered till chicken is fully cooked and the sauce thickens.

8. Taste the sauce. It should be slightly sour, sweet and spicy. If it’s too sour, add a little more sugar. Add salt if needed.

9. Add in the cherry tomatoes and serve with coriander leaves and cut green chilli. Goes best with plain rice.

Recipe Notes

** To make tamarind water, dissolve about a golf-sized portion of dried tamarind in about twice as much warm water. Use your fingers to dissolve the tamarind pulp in the water and strain with sieve. Discard the seeds. You could also use tamarind paste and dissolve in twice as much warm water.

* Soak a large handful of deseeded dried chillies in boiling hot water for about 30 minutes or till they plump up and double in volume. Drain the chillies. Using a good blender, blend the chillies with a little oil until a smooth paste forms. This raw chilli paste can be kept refrigerated in a sealed container for about a week. You can use this chilli paste for other dishes too. I’ll be posting more recipes using this chilli paste in the next few weeks.