Published Sep 30, 2013 Updated Sep 23, 2024 Every time I go back to Malaysia, I never miss out Malay food, especially Malay nasi campur (rice plates) or nasi Melayu, where I get to choose the dishes to go with a plate of steamed white rice. I always go crazy with the wide selections—rendang, chicken in spicy sauce, sambal sotong, egg sambal, sambal okra, and the list goes on. Every single dish is so enticing and mouthwatering and I just wanted to eat them all. Sometimes, I would have 5 or 6 dishes on top of the steamed rice. I love it, because Malay food absolutely rocks in the taste department. One of the dishes I love is turmeric chicken (ayam goreng kunyit or ayam masak kunyit). Depending on where you get this dish from, the chicken could be deep fried (hence the word “goreng“) or just simply cooked in a simple stir-fry. Out of all the dry spices, I am partial to turmeric, or kunyit. Growing up, we used a lot of turmeric in our kitchen; turmeric adds a beautiful yellow color to the food and lends the exotic nuance and aroma to every dish that we made at home. This dish is no exception as the turmeric makes the chicken intensely tasty. The onion, red chili, and French beans add to the texture, presentation, and flavor of the overall dish. Most people don’t like to deep fry chicken at home, so this is my take on the traditional Malay turmeric chicken, or ayam masak kunyit. It’s a simple stir-fry dish that anyone can make at home, and takes less than 30 minutes to make.
What To Serve With Turmeric Chicken
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes. I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
