Ayam masak merah means, quite simply, chicken cooked red, and the name undersells it. This is one of the great celebration dishes of Malay cooking, made in big pots for weddings and for Hari Raya at the end of Ramadan, and cooked at home whenever a family wants a meal to feel like an occasion. It is eaten across Malaysia and in Singapore too, and because it is above all a home dish, every household has its own version and a firm belief that the others are close but not quite right.

The method is what makes it. Chicken pieces are rubbed with turmeric and salt and fried until golden, then simmered in a sauce built on a paste of dried chilies, shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal and lemongrass. That paste is fried slowly in oil until it darkens and the oil separates out, a stage Malay cooks call pecah minyak, and only then do the tomato, a little sugar and the whole spices join it. The sauce ends up thick, brick red and clinging, sweet and sour and warm rather than ferocious.

At weddings it often arrives with nasi tomato, rice cooked with ghee, spices and tomato until it turns a soft coral color, and that is the pairing here. It is a generous project for a race weekend, but nearly all of it can be done ahead, and the sauce only improves overnight, which is more than can be said for most of us.

The fried chicken

Ingredients

• 3 lb (1.4 kg) bone in chicken pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
• 1 cup (240 ml) neutral oil for shallow frying

Method

1. Pat the chicken pieces dry with paper towels. Put them in the large bowl, sprinkle over the turmeric and salt, and rub it all over every piece with your hands (wear gloves if you mind yellow fingers). Leave for at least 15 minutes, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.
2. Pour the oil into the large skillet or wok and heat over medium high heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Fry the chicken in two batches so the pieces are not crowded, lowering them in away from you. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side, turning with the tongs, then lift them onto the rack.
4. Turn off the heat. Carefully pour all but about 4 tablespoons of the oil into a heatproof container, leaving the tasty browned bits in the pan for the sauce.

The red sauce

Ingredients

• 15 to 20 dried red chilies
• 6 shallots
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) piece fresh ginger
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) piece galangal
• 2 stalks lemongrass
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 4 whole cloves
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 1 large yellow onion
• 1 cup (240 ml) tomato passata or tomato purée
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) tomato ketchup
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) water
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) coconut milk
• 2 ripe tomatoes
• 1/2 cup (70 g) frozen peas
• 3 makrut lime leaves
• to taste salt

Method

1. Snip the dried chilies into pieces with the scissors. Put them in the heatproof bowl, cover with just boiled water and leave for 20 minutes. Drain, keeping 1/4 cup (60 ml) of the soaking water.
2. Put the soaked chilies, shallots, garlic, ginger, galangal and lemongrass in the blender with the saved soaking water. Blend for 1 to 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides, until very smooth.
3. Set the pan with the reserved oil over medium heat. Add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cardamom and stir for 30 to 45 seconds.
4. Add the chili paste carefully, as it will spit. Lower the heat to medium low and cook, stirring every minute or so and scraping the bottom, for 12 to 15 minutes. If it starts to catch, add a spoonful of water.
5. Stir in the onion rings and cook for 2 minutes until they start to soften. Add the passata, ketchup, sugar and water, stir well and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Return the fried chicken to the pan, turning the pieces to coat them in sauce. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, turning the pieces once halfway.
7. Stir in the coconut milk, if using, the tomato wedges, peas and lime leaves. Simmer uncovered for 3 to 4 minutes. Taste and adjust with salt and a little more sugar; it should be sweet, tangy and gently hot all at once.

Nasi tomato

Ingredients

• 2 cups (400 g) basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1 small yellow onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 inch (2.5 cm) piece fresh ginger
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 3 whole cloves
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) tomato passata or tomato purée
• 2 1/4 cups (540 ml) chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 2 tablespoons fried shallots
• 1 small handful cilantro leaves

Method

1. Put the rice in a bowl, cover with cold water, swirl with your hand and pour off the cloudy water. Repeat 3 or 4 times, then cover with fresh water and soak for 20 minutes. Drain in the sieve.
2. Melt the ghee in the saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until soft and golden. Add the garlic, ginger, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cardamom and stir for 1 minute.
3. Add the drained rice and stir gently for 1 minute to coat every grain in ghee. Stir in the passata and cook for 1 minute more.
4. Pour in the stock and salt, stir once and bring to a boil. Cover with the tight lid, turn the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 15 minutes without lifting the lid.
5. Turn off the heat and leave the pan covered for 10 minutes. Fluff the rice gently with a fork, lifting from the bottom, and pick out the whole spices if you like. Scatter with fried shallots and cilantro.

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