Authentic Ayam Masak Merah | Malay Tomato Chicken Stew

How to make authentic Ayam Masak Merah, or Malay-style Tomato Chicken Stew.

Ayam Masak Merah is the quintessential Malay dish. Literally translated Chicken Cooked Red (lol), it is more accurately actually a tomato chicken stew which is usually only mildly spicy. I’ve made many versions of this before, and this is the authentic “correct” way to make it.

Although I like to make my easier 20-minute version for weekdays, this version is equally easy and straightforward, albeit requires a longer stewing time for best flavour.

Type of Chicken to Use for the Best Ayam Masak Merah

I am the biggest fan of boneless chicken, in fact, it’s my go-to in my other easier 20-minute Ayam Masak Merah recipe.

However, for the real-deal Ayam Masak Merah, bone-in, skin-on chicken will work the best!

Authentic Ayam Masak Merah recipe requires a longer stewing time – this will ensure the tomatoes and spice base properly cook down for maximum depth of flavour. Bone-in chicken will work better as it requires a longer time to cook, and it will not dry out. In addition, it imparts a lot more flavour into the stew than boneless chicken.

Why Pre-Fry the Chicken First?

We are also going to pre-fry the chicken pieces first before making the stew. This will change the texture of the surface of the chicken, and give you a more satisfying meal. The chicken is marinated with turmeric powder and salt for extra flavour!

Pre-frying the chicken first will also help the chicken to not disintegrate in the stewing process! The long stewing process will result in super soft and tender chicken. This is a matter of preference though. I’ve enjoyed Ayam Masak Merah with both fall-off-bone chicken and intact.

This pre-frying step is optional though. If you want a healthier – or an easier meal – feel free to skip this step.

The Secret to Good Ayam Masak Merah: Reducing the Tomatoes

Good Ayam Masak Merah requires one very essential step: allow the tomatoes to stew and develop into a rich gravy.

I like to use canned tomatoes, but my Mom would fresh tomatoes. My Mom would use a larger amount of fresh tomatoes, and make it really rich and saucy. She would chop them up, and let it stew until it turns to gravy, mushy consistency, as if pureed. This meant she would let it stew and reduce and let all the flavours really develop – for at least an hour.

Whether you use canned tomatoes or fresh ones, give it plenty of time to reduce! That tomato reduction is really what makes this dish amazing. And yes, you would notice tomato puree is used in the recipe as well. This adds to that deep rich tomato flavour.

I’ll be honest, I prefer my Ayam Masak Merah less tomato-y and spicier. While my Mom would use 4 big tomatoes, I go milder and use 2 or maybe even just 1! Adjust the tomatoes according to your liking.

The Addition of Whole Spices: ‘4 Friends’

My mom also adds some spices to the dish, namely cinnamon, star anise, cloves and cardamoms. In Malay, this is known as “Empat Kawan” or “Four Friends”.

This adds a gorgeous dimension to the dish. You don’t need these four spices too, if you have just a couple of the ingredients, it will work as well.

Why is my Ayam Masak Merah so Tart?

For a couple different reasons! The bulk of the tartness is coming from the tomatoes, which are one of the main ingredients in Ayam Masak Merah.

A few ways that you can combat this tartness:

• Allow the tomatoes to fully cook and reduce! This stewing process removes that raw tomato flavour AND any tartness. Make sure to allow the tomatoes and sauces reduce to a gravy consistency to get a rich, tomato flavour with not much tartness at all. Think of this as an Italian ragu sauce – the longer it cooks, the better and richer it tastes!

• Add sugar. Tomatoes have varying levels of tartness, so adjust the sugar to combat it.

• Add more of the dried chilli paste and/or onions! Wedding-style Ayam Masak Merahs are often made with more dried chilli paste. Of course, this will result in a spicier dish. While adding more of the chilli paste helps, in my experience, people prefer a milder Ayam Masak Merah to a punch-your-mouth spicy version. In which case, use onions! Using more onions will also result in a thick gravy.

What to Serve Ayam Masak Merah With?

You can have it with plain rice, but for special occasions like Eid or weddings, Nasi Minyak or ghee butter rice is the norm! I made an ultra-easy, rice cooker Nasi Minyak right here.

It’s also the perfect pairing with Nasi Tomato or Tomato Rice!

There is usually a side of pickled vegetables served with it, called Achar. I love the spiced version with cucumbers and carrots, I have a recipe for Achar Nonya Awak right here.

Other Variations:

• Another secret ingredient my Mom sometimes uses is curry powder – this was a tip picked up from my late Grandma. You’re adding a hint of it, so it doesn’t taste like actual curry, but just enough to make you go “hmm, there’s something something in here”.

• Along the same note, two cheat ingredients that you would likely have in your pantry that can replace “Four Friends” would be Garam Masala or Chinese Five Spice Powder. These two ingredients, while not traditionally Malay ingredients, are basically ground versions of the Four Friends – with the addition of other spices.

Watch How To Make It

NOTE: I’ve since updated the recipe on this blog for best flavour and better serving portions! Feel free to reference the video for the steps.

More Recipes Like This

If you love this Ayam Masak Merah recipe, you will enjoy these too:

• Beef Rendang
• Sambal Goreng | Spicy Tofu Tempe Stir Fry
• Sayur Lodeh | Vegetables Stewed in Coconut Milk
• Acar Nonya Awak | Spicy Pickled Vegetables
• Cheat’s Ayam Rendang

Authentic Ayam Masak Merah Recipe | Malay Tomato Chicken

Recipe by Sha

4.7 from 3 votes

Course: Uncategorized

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

• Chicken and Marinade

• 5 -600g Chicken, bone-in and cut into parts

• 1 tbsp Turmeric Powder

• 1 tsp Salt

• 1/2 cup Neutral Oil, for frying

• Blend together:

• 10 Dried Chillies, soaked in boiling water (or 2 tbsps Dried Chilli Paste)

• 3 -4 Onions or Shallots

• 4 cloves Garlic

• 2 inch Ginger

• 1/2 inch Galangal

• 1 Lemongrass, inner core, sliced

• 1/4 cup Water for easier blending

• Everything Else

• 1 Cinnamon Stick

• 2 Star Anise

• 3 -4 Cloves

• 2 -3 Cardamoms

• 2 -4 Tomatoes, chopped finely

• 1 tbsp Tomato Puree

• 2 cups Water

• 1 tbsp Sugar, or to taste

• 2 tsp Salt, or to taste

• 1 cup Peas

Directions

• Pre-Frying the Chicken
• Rub chicken with turmeric powder and salt. Allow to marinade for about 10 minutes.
• Shallow fry or deep fry the marinated chicken. Simply sear the chicken on both sides, just until the surface of the chicken is not pink, this will take about 2-3 minutes only. Remove from the pan and set to one side. Reserve the oil for later.
• Blended Base Paste
• Roughly chop the ingredients for the base paste. Add to a blender, and blitz to a smooth paste. If ingredients are not blending smoothly, add water bit by bit. Do not add too much.
  
• Making the Ayam Masak Merah
• Add oil to the pot – you can reuse the oil and pot used to fry the chicken earlier – and turn the heat back on. Over low heat, add the dry whole spices: cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom. Saute till fragrant.
• Add the blended base paste. Continuously stir until the oil splits, that is when the paste dries and turns a darker hue, and red oil is floating on top of the paste. See: How to properly cook dried chilli paste.
• Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, water, salt, sugar and the half-cooked chicken. Turn the heat up, let that come to a boil, before turning it down and let it simmer. Occasionally return to the pot to stir. Allow to simmer for 30 minutes or more, until the sauce has reduced to a thick gravy. The tomatoes should also completely soften and reduce to a paste.
• Once tomatoes reduce to a gravy consistency, add peas if using and stir through. Give a final taste test and season with more salt or sugar if needed.
• Ayam Masak Merah is done! Chicken should also be fully cooked through.

Did you make this recipe?

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