Spicy Malaysian-style Chicken

This is my take on a super yummy lunch that I used to have at the ASAP Malaysian deli on Broadgate circle before it closed and I was left yummy-spicy-chicken-less. Although this is quite different in taste it is super cheap and easy to make for a large group of people.

Ingredients:

• 8 chicken thighs
• 2 red peppers
• 1 large red chili
• 1 stick lemongrass
• 1 large piece of Ginger
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• 3 tablespoons Nam Pla fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar or palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon light vegetable oil

Method:

Pre-heat your oven to fan 200C°.

Core and de-seed the red peppers, place in blender. Remove the top off the chili, peel a 1 cm piece of ginger and peel the garlic cloves. Halve the lemongrass stick and remove root and top.  Add the chili, ginger, garlic and lemongrass to the blender and blend to a coarse chop.

Heat the oil in a heavy base shallow dish on the hob over a high heat. Once hot, add the chicken thighs whole and skin down. Once these begin to brown, spread the pepper paste over the chicken thighs. Add the vinegar, the fish sauce and bring to a boil. Turn the thigh pieces and spoon the sauce over them. Add the soy sauce over all pieces.

Once all the meat has been browned on both sides, turn the meat to skin side up and spoon sauce over the skin. Transfer the dish to the oven and cook uncovered for approximately 30-40 minutes. The chicken should be well browned on top and the sauce should have become a dark red.

Serving Suggestion:

I like to serve this with steamed tender stem broccoli or Pak Choi and with coriander and lime steamed white rice.