The specialty from Negeri Sembilan is the masak lemak cili padi, which is a spicy rich yellow coconut gravy that is cooked with bird's eyes chillies. While this dish uses chicken, it can be substituted with prawns.
Ingredients
Serves: 6
500 g chicken, cut into small pieces
1 teaspoon salt
2 pieces asam keping (dried tamarind slices)
1 cup (250ml) thick coconut milk
2 cups (500ml) thin coconut milk
1 turmeric leaf
Salt and pepper to taste
Spice Blend:
20 bird's eyes chillies
2 cm ginger
2 cm tumeric root
8 shallots
2 cloves garlic
Preparation method
1.Rub the chicken pieces with salt and let marinate for 10 minutes.
2.Blend all the spice ingredients until fine. Stir in the ground ingredients with asam keping, torn tumeric leaf and thin coconut milk into a pot and bring to a slow boil.
3.Add chicken pieces and simmer until the gravy thickens. Add thick coconut milk and salt to taste.