Chicken and salted beans

BRAISED TURMERIC CHICKEN WITH SALTED BEANS 

For a long time, I have felt daunted by the task of cooking Malaysian food. And even though I made up my mind earlier this year that I would try to cook more of it, I have not been doing so. I guess when Malaysian dishes are so easily available just down the road, there's no need to actually cook them at home.

But it's good to have a culinary repertoire – a few uncomplicated dishes that don't take all day to make but are different from the everyday fare and would be a treat whenever they're served.

The recipe for this Malay braised turmeric chicken with salted beans comes from Passion, a collaboration between two hotels in Malaysia: Sheraton Imperial Kuala Lumpur Hotel and The Westin Langkawi Resort & Spa. The recipes are the signature dishes of the 13 chefs featured in the book, which also features the fermented beef sausages and sour masala jam that I posted on some time ago.

The chicken in the picture does look a little oily, but when the gravy is slathered on plain white rice,  it's hard not to have a second helping!

Braised Turmeric Chicken With Salted Beans

Serves 2

2 free-range chicken legs
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
500ml cooking oil
Curry leaves, to garnish

Sauce
20ml cooking oil
60g ginger, sliced
5 shallots, sliced
5 cloves garlic, sliced
5 dried red chillies
250ml water
1 tsp salted beans
50ml sweet soya sauce
1 tsp black pepper, ground
1 tsp sugar

Season the chicken with turmeric powder and salt and deep-fry over medium heat until half-cooked; set aside.

In the remaining oil, fry the curry leaves for a few seconds. Place on kitchen paper to drain.

For the sauce: Heat the oil and sauté the ginger, shallots, garlic and dried chillies for three minutes.

Add water and salted beans, soya sauce, ground black pepper and sugar (no salt is needed as the beans are salty).

Add the chicken to the pan and braise with the ingredients till the chicken is well cooked. Drain.

Serve the chicken with the fried curry leaves sprinkled on top.