Hed Chef: Assam Chicken

An obstacle to eating homecooked food on weekdays is that you may not have enough time or energy to muck about in the kitchen.

So here is a solution to let you relish your own cooking on a weekday. This week's recipe for assam chicken has no coconut milk and is suitable for keeping to eat a few days later.

Cook it on a weekend and let it keep in the fridge to make a lovely main course on a Monday or even a Tuesday.

The rempah or spice paste is fairly straightforward.

Pandan leaves, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric leaves add a fragrance, but if you have no time to look around for it, you can drop the last of these.

Turmeric leaf is not easily found in wet markets, and I have yet to see it sold at a supermarket. That is why I grow my own.

I use organic coconut oil as it gives the rich aroma of coconut and does a pretty good job of standing in for coconut milk.

My recipe is strong on the sour and sweet notes. You can cut back on the assam if you prefer less tang, and reduce the amount of sugar accordingly.

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INGREDIENTS

• 300g shallots
• 4 garlic cloves
• 8 dried chillies (15g), soaked and softened
• 10g fresh turmeric, chopped
• 15g galangal, chopped
• 15g ginger, chopped
• 2 lemongrass stalks, remove outer layers, use 5cm of the root, slice finely
• 3 buah keras (candlenuts)
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• Half a large chicken or one small chicken (850g), cut into large pieces (around 5cm by 7cm)
• 100g assam jawa (tamarind pulp)
• 6 tbsp coconut oil
• 600ml water
• 6 pandan leaves, knotted
• 8 kaffir lime leaves
• 1 turmeric leaf, torn
• 2½ tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
•  ½ tsp salt

METHOD

1. To make the rempah (spice paste), grind the shallots, garlic, dried chillies, turmeric, galangal, ginger, lemongrass, buah keras and ground coriander using a blender, with a little water for smoother blending.

2. Heat 3 tablespoons of coconut oil in a non-stick pan. Fry the rempah for 15 minutes over low heat. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

3. Rinse and dry the chicken.

4. Marinate the chicken with the assam jawa and rempah. Wear a glove to massage the paste into the chicken.

5. Cover the dish with cling wrap and place in the fridge to marinate, preferably overnight or at least for three hours.

6. Remove the chicken from the fridge and let it warm to near room temperature.

7. Heat the pan or wok with the remaining 3 tablespoons of coconut oil.

8. Fry the marinated chicken for 5 minutes, stirring to prevent burning.

9. Add the water gradually and stir.

10. Add the knotted pandan leaves, kaffir lime leaves and turmeric leaf .

11. Cover and allow the mixture to come to a boil.

12. Season with sugar, light soy sauce, fish sauce and salt.

13. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Turn off the heat.

14. Serve hot with rice.