Spicy Tomato Chicken (Ayam Masak Merah)

This is a Malay/Indonesian dish which is spicy and sweet at the same time. Recipe was passed down to me by my mother-in-law, and although it doesn't quite taste the same as the way she makes it, my husband loves it!

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 35 mins
• Total Time: 55 mins
• Calories: 462 Calories

Ingredients

• ½ cup water
• salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 2 whole star anise pods
• 3 fresh red chile pepper, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon white sugar, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons sunflower seed oil
• 1 (3 pound) whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces
• ¼ cup dried red chile peppers
• 1 (3/4 inch thick) slice fresh ginger root
• 5 cardamom seeds

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Rub the chicken with turmeric powder and salt. Set aside. Soak the dried red chile peppers in hot water until softened. Blend the softened dried chile, fresh red chile pepper, garlic, onion, and ginger in a blender to a paste.

Step 2

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in the hot oil until golden on all sides. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside. Remove excess oil from the skillet, leaving about 1 tablespoon. Cook and stir the chile paste with the cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cardamom seeds until fragrant. Return the chicken to the skillet. Stir in the water, adding more if needed. Toss in the tomatoes and stir in the ketchup and sugar. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until no the chicken longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes. Serve hot.