Sambal Chicken

A spicy, slightly sweet, and tangy chicken dish Popular in Singapore and Malaysia. Marinated Chicken pieces are par-fried and then cooked slowly in a delicious finger-licking sauce, using a special freshly ground spice paste.

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Time is not inclusive of marinating time and soaking time of the chilies.

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You can strike through ingredients, as you prep them, by clicking on the ingredient.

Ingredients:

For Marinating the Chicken:

To make the Sambal Paste:

Method:

1. Rinse and drain the cleaned chicken pieces thoroughly. Add to a bowl to marinate.
2. Marinate the chicken: Add all the ingredients ‘for Marinating the Chicken’. Rub well and set aside for a minimum time of 30 minutes to marinate.  Don’t forget the salt. (Up to 3 hours if refrigerated). See notes..
3. Rehydrate the dried chilies: Add the dried red chilies to a saucepan with water. Boil this for 10 minutes, then switch off the heat, cover and leave for 30 minutes to rehydrate. The dried chilies will ‘plump’ up and soften. 
4. Make the Sambal Paste: Add all the ingredients to make the Sambal paste to a small Grinder jar or blender. When you remove the dried rehydrated chilies from the saucepan, use your fingers to lift them out of the water. Do not squeeze them to remove water. Add to the grinder jar.
5. Grind these ingredients, to a very smooth paste without adding water. The liquid from the rehydrated chilies s and the tomato is sufficient liquid.
6. Frying the chicken:  Heat half a cup of oil in a wide wok and fry the marinated chicken pieces on all sides till golden. It does not have to be fully cooked here. Remove the fried pieces from the oil.
7. Now you can either remove all but 3 Tbsp of the oil or use the remaining oil in the wok to saute onions. ( In the video, I use all the remaining oil. However, you can reduce the amount of oil and keep sprinkling water during the long cooking process, as I do when I don’t have too many other things happening in the kitchen.)
8. Add the chopped onions, whole spices (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, star anise), and the ginger-garlic paste.
9. Saute till the raw smell of the ginger and garlic is gone. Then add half of a tomato, that has been chopped and saute till the tomato softens.
10. Once the tomato is soft, add the prepared Sambal Paste. Give it a good stir. Rinse out the blender/ grinder with a small amount of water so as not to lose any of that paste.
11. Now, cook this slow and low. Low-Medium heat for 20 minutes. Stir every 3-4 minutes. This is where the amount of oil plays well and prevents the scorching of spices. If you used less oil, to begin with, keep sprinkling water so you don’t get the burnt taste.
12. After 20 minutes, the oil has separated and the sauce is nice and thick.
13. Add the tomato ketchup and hot and sweet chili sauce.
14. Now return the fried chicken and stir well. Cook the pieces in the sauce briefly and then add the water (1/2 cup). Stir well and bring to a  boil. Lower the heat, add the Lime leaves(torn), and cook for 10 more minutes. Add salt, only if needed.
15. After 10 minutes, we see the thick gravy coating the chicken pieces. Check if the chicken is tender, if not, you may require a bit more water and extended cooking time.
16. Serve with plain steamed rice or Nasi Minyak (ghee rice).

Sambal Chicken

Notes:

• Ginger-garlic paste is fresh ginger and garlic in equal proportions, ground to a paste without adding water.
• You can add 2 tsp cornflour and 1 tsp rice flour to the chicken marinade, to make it slightly crispy while frying, if you like that texture.
• Regular lime leaves can be used instead of kaffir lime.

Key Ingredients: Chicken, Chillies, Tomato, Shallots, Onion, Ginger, Garlic, Spices, Oil, Salt.

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