Gulai Ayam

Name: Gulai Ayam
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: Salt and sugar to taste; 150 g cooking oil; 4 whole red chillies; 500 g Dutch cream potatoes, peeled, halved and par-cooked; 10 g desiccated coconut; 800 ml water; 2 lemongrass stalks, white part only, bruised with the back of a knife; 200 ml coconut milk; 1 lemon, juiced; 1.6 kg free-range chicken, cut into 12 pieces; 2 tbsp chilli powder, mixed with a small amount of water to make a spice paste (try the Babas brand powder from Singapore, or the very red Parrot brand from Malaysia); 2 tbsp chilli powder, mixed with a small amount of water to make a spice paste (try the Babas brand powder from Singapore, or the very red Parrot brand from Malaysia); 2 tbsp chilli powder, mixed with a small amount of water to make a spice paste (try the Babas brand powder from Singapore, or the very red Parrot brand from Malaysia); Salt and sugar to taste; 5 cloves garlic; 40 g fresh ginger; 20 g fresh turmeric

Preparation info

6
Serves

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Cheong Liew

By David Sly and Cheong Liew

Published 2025

About

This is one of Cheong’s favourite kampung recipes.

Ingredients

1.6 kg free-range chicken, cut into 12 pieces
1 lemon, juiced
200

Oceania
Malaysia
Australia
Main course
Gluten-free

Method

Season the chicken pieces with salt and lemon juice. In a heavy pot, heat oil and fry the chilli powder paste until oil spits. Add chicken pieces, bruised lemongrass and toss to seal the chicken, then simmer for five minutes. Add coconut milk and water, bring chicken curry to a boil, and add potatoes. Cook until tender. Add red chillies. Season with salt and sugar, stir and sim