Gulai Ayam Padang - Padang Chicken Curry

Indonesia is a big country, and cuisines of many regions combined make up what we know as Indonesian cuisine. Among its many cuisines, Padang is easily my favorite.

Some of popular Padang dishes that you may have heard of include rendang, ayam pop, ayam panggang, balado, perkedel, sambal lado, gulai nangka, gulai daun singkong, soto Padang, and many more. If I were to eat just Padang dishes for the rest of my days, I don’t think I will complain much. :)

I am going to share my recipe for Gulai Ayam Padang today. I love that this dish has plenty of delicious sauce that is just perfect with some steamed rice. I never throw away the extra sauce even when all the chicken is gone. The extra curry sauce elevates a humble meal of steamed rice and fried egg into a delicious meal.

Ingredients for gulai ayam Padang

1. Chicken

Most Padang restaurants in Indonesia use ayam kampung for their chicken dishes. Ayam kampung is the equivalent of a free-range chicken, and it is usually smaller and lighter compared to farmed chicken. You can use a whole chicken, cut up into 8-12 pieces.

I usually use chicken leg quarters, cut into thighs and drumsticks. If you choose this option, you will need about 4-5 chicken quarters for this recipe.

2. Fresh ingredients

We will need garlic, shallot, red chilies, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves.

For the red chilies, most Indonesians usually use either bird-eye or cayenne chilies. Bird-eye will be hotter than cayenne, but if you want an even milder dish, you can use Fresno chilies too. You can also use dried red chilies when you are running out of fresh chilies.

3. Dry/pantry ingredients

We will need salt, coconut palm sugar, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom, candlenuts, tamarind, and coconut milk.

How to cook gulai ayam Padang

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.

Create a complete Padang rice set (a.k.a. nasi Padang)

It is said that no matter where you go in Indonesia, you are bound to find at least one amazing Padang restaurant. For most Indonesians, a packet of nasi Padang (Padang rice set) is considered a happy and complete meal.

A typical Padang rice set will have a serving of steamed rice, a serving of meat, a serving of vegetables, and a serving of sambal (chili sauce).

Gulai ayam Padang is one of the many great choices to get for the meat, though other choices such as rendang, ayam pop, or ayam panggang are excellent choices as well.

For the vegetables, you can choose from a balado, perkedel, gulai nangka, or gulai daun singkong.

When it comes to Padang cuisine, the best and most famous chili sauce without a doubt is sambal lado. But if you don’t have the ingredients for it, it is not a bad idea to serve nasi Padang with sambal terasi or sambal bajak too.