Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Api (Malay Turmeric Coconut Chicken)

• 10–20 bird's eye chillies (cili padi), stems removed
• 2–3 inch piece fresh turmeric (kunyit hidup), scraped
• a little water, for blending
• 1 small chicken (about 1.5 kg), cut into pieces
• 2 lemongrass stalks, bruised
• Coconut milk: a splash of thin coconut milk (second pressing of the same coconut) or water, to rinse the blender
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
• a little ground turmeric, for colour (optional)
• thick coconut milk from 1 coconut (or 2 × 200 ml cartons coconut milk)
• salt to taste
• 1 turmeric leaf (daun kunyit), finely sliced
• 2 slices asam keping (dried garcinia)

Method

The cook speaks Malay; every step is written here in English. Tap a time to watch that step in the video. For subtitles, tap CC in the video, then Settings › Subtitles › Auto-translate › English.

1. Pull the stems off the chillies, peel the potatoes and cut them into 4–6 wedges, scrape the skin off the turmeric, bruise the lemongrass and finely slice the turmeric leaf. 1:00
2. Blend the chillies and turmeric with a little water (or thin coconut milk) to a coarse paste. 3:53
3. Put the chicken pieces in a dry wok over medium heat and cook, turning, until their liquid has dried up and the fat starts to render. No oil is needed. 4:09
4. Add the chilli-turmeric paste and fry it in the chicken fat until fragrant, add the bruised lemongrass, then rinse the blender into the wok with a splash of thin coconut milk, cover and cook briefly. 4:58
5. Add the potatoes, cover and cook until the chicken is fully tender, as it cooks only briefly after the thick coconut milk goes in. Add a little ground turmeric if you want a brighter yellow. 5:21
6. Pour in the thick coconut milk, add salt, the turmeric leaf and asam keping, and bring slowly just to the boil over low heat, stirring gently so the coconut milk doesn't split. Too thick? Add thin coconut milk or water. 5:46

Tip. Serves 6 (our estimate from one 1.5 kg chicken). No fresh turmeric? Che Nom says ½ tbsp ground turmeric works. Leave out the potatoes to cut the carbs further. It is eaten with hot rice; cauliflower rice works too.

The method is a summary in our words — the video shows every step.