Salam & Hi
Selamat Hari Raya to my fellow readers, friends and families.
How's raya this year?
As for me, balik kampung this year is so much different. Since we now live far away from Malaysia, the whole balik kampung experience is something grande and to be celebrated in every way possible. And yes, we love food...it is part of that celebration as well ; )
For Eid this year, Chik Anish (that's what my nephew & nieces fondly call me) was given the honour to cook one of the raya dish for the entire family....One of my brothers requested for a dish from the Middle East as one of the menu but since I've not mastered anything grand, I had to postpone it to next year, InsyaAllah ; )
Mama asked me to make our own favourite - the ever so delicious Rendang Ayam Cili Padi for the special day. I remembered the first time making this dish in Doha for a breakfast with my female friends. I made 2 whole chickens for 5 of us to be served with hot nasi lemak and it wasn't enough!
The recipe is extracted from a book by Esther Foo (my ex-classmate from a Wilton class) but I've modified according to my Malay tastebud ;P
Rendang Ayam Cili Padi
1 whole chicken cut into 12-14pieces
2 tbsp cooking oil (optional)
1L thick coconut milk, extracted from 2 coconuts
1 pc turmeric leave/daun kunyit
4-5pcs kaffir lime leaves/daun limau purut
3-4 pcs dried slices of tamrid fruit/asam keping/asam gelugor
Salt & a pinch of sugar to taste
To be blended to make rendang paste:
2 medium sized onions
3-4 cloves garlic
50g galangal/lengkuas
20g ginger
25g turmeric/kunyit hidup
50-80g green bird's eyes chilli/cili padi (depends on how hot you want it to be)
4 sticks lemongrass/serai (use 2-3 sticks to make paste, the balance is to be bruised and fry with the paste)
1. Fry rendang paste in cooking oil (optional) along with bruised serai till slightly soft and fragrant.
2. Add the coconut milk, mix well by stirring gently.
3. Add the chicken pieces, stir and cook under high heat. Bring it to boil.
4. Once boiled, add in asam keping, salt and sugar. Turn down the heat, let it simmer.
5. Cook for another 11/2 - 2 hours, stirring every 20-30 minutes. Check the taste and adjust according to your liking.
Tips: You may fry the chicken pieces to slightly browned before putting it inside the coconut milk as to avoid them becoming crushed/hancur in the whole process of making the rendang. As for me I like it all crushed!
Serves 4-6 people
So, how was the verdict, you may asked?Alhamdulillah, everyone in the family loved this rendang so much - refilling it at least 3 times in a row hahahaha....My aunts and cousins loved it too and kept asking for the recipe. Well, do download from my blog ni ok?
As for me, I fell in love with this rendang the first time I made it. It is soo easy to do and the end-product is just awesome! Don't be scared of the cili padi in its name - it is not as spicy as it may sound! To me the amount of cili padi used in the recipe is on the mild side. If you want it to kick harder, do maximise the cili padi volume in the paste ; )
This rendang is good with anything, be it nasi lemak, ketupat, pulut kuning or even a plain white bread. If you ask me, I prefer it most with the "square/cubed rice" a.k.a nasi himpit!
Again, here's wishing you
Eid Mubarak: Selamat Hari Raya: Maaf Zahir & Batin
Hugs from Melthoney ♥
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