Ayam Masak Lemak - the smell of home

Whenever I start to feel like I'm missing my home and family, I would cook something that my mum would cook for us, something traditionally Malay. I had a whole chicken, fresh chillies and a can of coconut milk so I decided to make something that the whole family loves - my mum's ayam masak lemak. It's chicken cooked in a spicy coconut gravy. We have some fussy eaters in the family but everybody loves this.

It's a very simple recipe but the result is a very delicious dish that goes so well with freshly cooked rice. The first step to making this dish is frying the chicken pieces. While the chicken, which had been marinated with turmeric powder and salt, were frying, the smell was heavenly and it really took me back home. That's the smell of my kitchen whenever my mum cooked for us. My mum is such a great cook and whenever we smell chicken being fried, that meant that we were going to be in for a treat.

That smell also reminded me of all the times my mum got me to help her fry chicken while she prepared the rest of the ingredients or finished cooking other dishes. Funny how I didn't think to learn the recipes while she was cooking. All I knew was my usual tasks of frying the chicken or cutting up vegetables or something menial like that. Now that I'm away from home, I always have to rely on calling her to ask her for her recipes.

That reminds me too, of the time I asked for one of her recipes and the recipe I got was "$0.50 of cumin, $0.50 of coriander..." She's so cute! But I guess that's how it is with the older, experienced cooks. They don't really measure ingredients accurately. They go by feel and straight-forward eyeballing. Such experts.

But her recipes work for me, though I might have to adjust the quantities a bit. I'm only cooking for two while my mum is used to cooking big batches to feed all of us at home. Anyway, this recipe is quite foolproof, I think. I'll share the recipe here both as a way for me to remember it and also for some of my foodie friends to give it a go. Do try this. When the rice was cooking and the gravy was gently bubbling away, the smell in the kitchen was divine. It drew Pete into the kitchen several times to check on the dish, just as how my siblings and I would sneak into the kitchen to nick pieces of the chicken before the dish was done. We both couldn't wait to tuck in and with clean, empty plates after, you can bet it was a good dish.

Ayam Masak Lemak

1 whole chicken cut into 8 pieces
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
Oil for deep frying

Marinate the chicken pieces in the turmeric powder and salt and fry them in batches just until the skin browns a bit and the chicken is half-cooked.

5 - 8 fresh red chillies
1 large onion
3 large cloves of garlic
3 tbsp oil
1 lemongrass
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 big can of coconut milk
1 cup water
1/2 a small cabbage, cut into smaller pieces
1 chicken stock cube
Salt to taste

Blend the chillies, onion and garlic. In a pot, heat the oil and fry the chili mixture, lemongrass and the turmeric powder until the mixture is dry (about 8 mins). Add the fried chicken, coconut milk, water and cabbage. Stir well and allow the mixture to boil. Add the chicken cube. Once the chicken is fully cooked, taste the gravy and adjust the seasoning by either adding more salt or water. Serve with rice.

I added carrots to mine