Name: Ayam Assam Serani (Sour Eurasian Chicken Curry)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: Serves 8
Cuisine: Eurasian
Ingredients: 1kg (2.2lb) chicken portions; 1 large onion, sliced in rings; 2 lemongrass stalks, bottom half, bruised; 4 Tbsp tamarind pulp (or sub with 2 Tbsp clear vinegar); 250ml (1 cup) water; 2 Tbsp vegetable oil; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 tsp clear vinegar; small handful fresh coriander (cilantro), finely chopped - optional; Paste Ingredients; 2 large onions, quartered; 1 lemongrass, bottom half and sliced in rings; 1 Tbsp shrimp paste (belacan) - omit if unavailable; 2 Tbsp salted soy beans (taucheo) - omit if unavailable; 2 fresh red chillies; 1 tsp turmeric powder

Ayam Assam Serani

Malay Language Lesson first:

Ayam = Chicken
Assam = Sour, also refers to Tamarind
Serani = Eurasian
Babi = Pig (Pork)

Ayam Assam Serani = Sour Eurasian Chicken Curry (literally: chicken, sour, Eurasian)

Faham? = Understand?

This Ayam Assam Serani was a recipe my mum used to cook quite often. I’ve mentioned before that there aren’t a whole lot of recipes I cook that come from her, as she was always working. So the few that I do have, I treasure.

The original dish is in fact, Babi Assam, as in made with pork, and I believe, may have belonged to the Nyonya community in Singapore and Malaysia. Somewhere along the line, it got claimed by the Eurasians. My mum always made it with chicken, and that’s how I love it best.

You can read more about the Nyonya and Eurasian communities, as well as find other recipes, on the Singapore and Malaysia page. Their food is a beautiful mix of flavours and spices, the original fusion food, you might say!

We use quite a lot of tamarind in this Eurasian curry, and also finish it off with a touch of vinegar, resulting in a pretty tangy dish. To fully enjoy this sour curry, some plain white rice is best to soak up all that sharp, piquant, yet hearty flavours. A side salad makes a nice complement; a very simple, yet extremely satisfying meal.

Ayam Assam Serani is a very easy recipe to cook, not a whole lot of ingredients to think about, compared to some other Singaporean and Malaysian recipes we have here.

Ayam Assam Serani Ingredients

There are a couple of “pesky” ingredients, as I like to call them, but I sound like a broken tape recorder (who even has those anymore?), go online folks. Pay the p&p, and you can get anything online! Let’s take a look at our ingredients.

The Chicken

I always use a mix of chicken portions for curries and stews. A certain amount of chicken fat lends amazing depth to this Eurasian curry, and so I use a mixture of thighs, drumsticks and breasts, with the breasts chopped up, and skin on the drumsticks.

But that’s a personal preference; I love chicken thighs, my kids love the breasts. You can use just breasts if you want to go leaner, and skinless. Or use a whole chicken, chopped up, if that’s what you do.

Tamarind

Click here to read more. Tamarind is a tropical fruit that grows as a pod on the tamarind tree. The pod or fruit is shaped like a bean and contains a pulp with lots of seeds. This pulp is usually mashed with water to create “juice” that is extensively used in many cuisines around the world for its souring properties. Vinegar is a great substitute.

In this recipe, for the amount of tamarind suggested, substitute 2 Tbsp of clear vinegar.

If using shop bought ready paste, use the same amount, that is, 4 Tbsp of the ready made juice/paste from the jar.

Shrimp Paste (Belacan in Malay)

Click here to read more. Shrimp Paste is made from fermented ground shrimp, sun dried and either sold as a soft paste as in the picture, or cut into blocks. Shrimp paste, or belacan in Malay, is sheer umami.

Leave it out of the recipe if you can’t get it. It is an ingredient that is fairly often left out when making Babi Assam.

Salted, Fermented Soy Beans (Taucheo)

Click here to read more. Taucheo are salted, fermented soy beans, and should easily be found in Oriental stores and definitely online. They lend an earthy flavour and depth to recipes. You can omit it in this recipe, many people leave taucheo out when cooking Babi Assam. The result is still a wonderfully rich and tangy curry.

The word “taucheo” is of Chinese origin, I would guess that it’s Hokkien (a southern Chinese dialect). Correct me if I’m wrong. However, we all use it, including the Indonesians; it’s one of those local words that has long been adopted by all races in Singapore and Malaysia. Born and bred Singaporeans and Malaysians! Like shiok (yummy, awesome).

Lemongrass (Serai in Malay)

Click here to read more. As the flavour is concentrated in the thicker bulb end, we only use the bottom half of the lemongrass stalk. In the recipe card below, I say bruised lemongrass: using the back of a knife, pound hard on the bulb to lightly smash it. This releases the essential oils and flavour. Use as directed.

When a recipe calls for the lemongrass to be pounded or chopped, it’s always best to slice the lemongrass in thin rings first, only the bottom half, as mentioned. This is because lemongrass is very fibrous, and slicing it first makes for easier chopping/pounding.

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I believe that is all that we need to bother about, in making this curry. If you love trying out different types of curries, you will just love this one!

Have a superb weekend, all!

Lin xx

And if you fancy other Eurasian and local recipes, head on over to the Singapore and Malaysia page for dishes like:

: Eurasian Devil Curry

: Singgang Serani, Eurasian Fish Curry

: Singapore Chilli Lobster (the Chilli Crab’s cousin!)

: Eurasian Prawn Sambal Bostador

: Eurasian Beef Smore