Padang Ayam Masak Lemak Cili Padi Recipe. 

I fell in love with this dish when I visited Bandung, Indonesia recently and had the same dish 3 times within the four day trip with my buddy who also was full of praise for this very tasty and aroma filled dish. I cooked this yesterday and evryone in the family loved it. Do try cooking this. 

Rempah (raw ground spice ingredients):

20 Chilli Padi (deseeded if prefer less heat).
10 fresh Red Chillies (deseeded if prefer less heat).
2 thumb length fresh Ginger Root, remove the skin.
2 thumb length fresh Kunyit (Tumeric Root), remove the skin.
2 thumb length fresh Lengkuas (Blue Ginger Root), remove the skin.
1 Onion (Red),diced.
20 Shallots (small onions), diced.
6 cloves Garlic, remove skin.

5 buah keras (soak to soften).  

Blend the above rempah ingredients adding a little cooking oil to smoothen the paste and set aside.

Ingredients 

2 Kg Chicken, cut into 8 – 12 parts (remove skin if you are fussy like me).

2 pieces fresh Tumeric Leaf (Tumeric is fresh yellow ginger root – Kunyit in Malay).

1 stalk fresh Kaffir Lime Leaves (those used in Tomyum soup).

3 stalks Serai (Lemongrass – use the pale bottom part only, crush lightly to release essential oils).

Salt and White Pepper Powder, to taste (final seasoning).

8 tablespoons Vegetable Oil, and some more if necessary.

2 packets Coconut Milk.

1 litre water to be mixed with 1 packet of the coconut milk.                                               4 potatoes (quartered) - optional   

 Method:

1. Clean the chopped chicken parts and drain away excess water. Marinate the chicken pieces with some salt blended garlic and ginger mix qnd  set aside for 15 minutes.

2. Heat oil in wok or heavy saucepan over medium heat. 

3. Add the ground ingredients (rempah) with bruised lemongrass. and stir reducing the fire to keep the rempah from getting stuck to the base of the wok. Add a little more oil if necessary. Lower the fire to allow the rempah to be full cooked and the aroma starts to fill the kitchen.

4. When rempah has absorbed all the oil, add the chicken pieces and continue to stir-fry over medium heat till chicken is well covered in the rempah.

5. Gently pour in the 1st milk (mixture of water and coconut mik) and increase the heat to allow the mixture to boil. Add in the tumeric leaves and the Kaffir lime leaves. as the gravy starts to boil and cover the wok or pot. If you like potatoes with your Padang chicken, you can add some at this time.

6. Stir occasionally and allow the gravy to thicken somewhat. By this time the chicken should be almost cooked. Add the thick coconut milk and stir a few times to ensure the gravy is thoroughly mixed. Add the salt and white pepper (optional) and taste to see if the gravy is done.

7. Allow to simmer in low heat for about 5 minutes before removing the wok or pot.

8. Best eaten with freshly cooked rice and fried tofu. 

Recipe for Roti John

This recipe so easy and unbelievably tasty.  It can be a hearty meal for two!

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients (for 1 Roti John)

1/4 ground beef
1 onion, finely diced
3 eggs
1 tablespoon Sambal (bottled one from the shop is fine)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder (optional)
1/2 baguette (open faced)
Salt (half teaspoon)
Pepper (a few dashes)

Preparation

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Heat a flat pan or griddle with a little vegetable oil.

Pour the mixture onto the pan and place the piece of open-faced baguette on top.

Press on the bread with a spatula and grill for 2 minutes.

Turn the bread over to make it a little crispy.

Remove from pan and cut the bread into small portions.

Add mayonnaise and/or Sambal before cutting the sandwich (optional) for that extra zing!.

To complete the meal, make 2 cups of “Teh Tarik”

 Anecdote on origin of Roti John

Roti john is a part of Malay cuisine – just like nasi lemak, mee soto and laksa, and is popular in Singapore, Malaysia and many other places in Southeast Asia. Its origins lie with the English, Malay and Indian communities of the Malay Peninsula. The name roti john literally translates to “John’s bread”, for John was a name commonly used to refer to all white people in the region, whilst roti is a Hindi term for bread. There is a local legend which tells us that once in the 1960’s, an Englishman asked a hawker for a burger, however there were no burgers available so the hawker had to improvise. First spreading minced mutton and onions between two slices of french bread the hawker then proceeded to fry this new “burger” in beaten eggs. The name roti john is also said to have come from this hawker who said to the Englishman, “Silakan makan roti, John”, which translates to “Please eat this bread, John” and can also be taken to mean “Please eat this dish, John’s bread.”