Gulai Ayam Padang - Padang Chicken Curry
Follow this recipe to recreate the famous Gulai Ayam Padang to get soft and tender chicken with a generous amount of spicy and savory curry sauce for the steamed rice.
- Prep time
- 30 min
- Cook time
- 1 hr
- Yield
- 8 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- 3 lemongrass (Indonesian: sereh), bruised and chopped
- 7 kaffir lime leaves (Indonesian: daun jeruk)
- 1 cinnamon stick (Indonesian: kayu manis)
- 3 cardamom (Indonesian: kapulaga), crushed
- 6 cloves (Indonesian: cengkeh)
- ½ star anise (Indonesian: bunga pekak/bunga lawang)
- 2 teaspoon coriander (Indonesian: biji ketumbar)
- ½ teaspoon cumin (Indonesian: jinten)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric (Indonesian: kunyit)
- 1 chicken cut into 8-12 pieces, or 4-5 chicken leg quarters cut into thighs and drumsticks
- 50 gram (1/4 cup) coconut palm sugar (Indonesian: gula Jawa)
- 2 teaspoon salt
- 5 gram (1 teaspoon) tamarind pulp (Indonesian: asam Jawa)
- 750 ml (3 cup) water
- 200 ml (1/2 can) coconut milk
- 3 cloves garlic
- 150 gram (5 oz) shallots
- 50 gram (1.5 oz) red chilies (Note 1)
- 1 inch ginger
- 2 inch galangal (Indonesian: lengkuas)
- 5 candlenuts (Indonesian: kemiri) (Note 2)
Instructions
- 1
Prepare spice paste: Use a food processor or a mortar and pestle to grind garlic, shallot, red chilies, ginger, galangal, and candlenuts into a smooth paste.
- 2
Sauté spices and aromatics: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok over medium heat and sauté spice paste, bruised lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, cinnamon, smashed cardamom, cloves, star anise, coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Stir until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- 3
Sauté chicken: Add chicken to the wok and stir to coat with the spices. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink.
- 4
Add seasonings and water: Add salt, coconut palm sugar, tamarind, and water. Mix and cook until boiling. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is soft and tender.
- 5
Add coconut milk: Stir in coconut milk and continue simmering for another 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, and serve the chicken curry with steamed white rice.