My son went on a holiday to Sri Lanka and couldn’t stop raving about this very frequently served dish in hotels and small establishments. I remember it from my visit to Sri Lanka where it was cooked by the chef at Sigiri Rock Villa an eco friendly hotel which was a lovely place to stop at. I spoke to some chefs during my trip and one of them wrote out the recipe for me, I tried/changed/tested it fully and now have this Devilled Chicken recipe to die for! – aptly named due to the amount of chillies in it! Please adjust amount of chillies according to your taste and tolerance.
Ingredients
Stage 1
- 2lb chicken pieces on the bone cut into 3inch pieces
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp crushed black pepper
- 2 tsp dry red chillie flakes (omit for mild)
- 4 tsp good quality chillie sauce (Encona, Sambal – reduce for milder)
- 4 tsp plain white flour
- 4 tbs oil
Stage 2
- 3 dstspoons cooking oil
- 2 dstspoons fresh crushed ginger
- 2 oz chopped onions
- 4 oz tomatoes finely chopped
- 2 finely sliced fresh green chillies (omit for milder)
- 1 dstspoons soya sauce
- 2 dstspoons good quality sweet chillie sauce (or 2 tsp sugar)
- 4 dstspoons ketchup
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 1 dstp good quality chillie sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp freshly crushed ground pepper
- 1 green and 1 yellow/red pepper cut into small pieces
- 10 curry leaves
- fistful of sliced green coriander
- 1 cup sliced spring onions
- 1 cup water (optional)
Method
Stage 1
- Wash the chicken in cold water, drain in a colander for 10 mins and place in a deep bowl.
- Add salt, pepper, chillie flakes, chillie sauce and flour, mix well and keep aside to marinate for 30 mins.
- Add the oil into a wok and heat, add half the chicken pieces and stir-fry for 5-7 mins or until almost cooked, remove chicken into a plate, add the rest of the chicken, stir-fry for 5-7 mins and remove into the plate.
Stage 2
- Place the oil in a wok, add the fresh ginger, stir-fry for 2 mins or until brown, add the onions stir-fry for a further 2 minutes, add the tomatoes, cook covered on low heat for a few minutes until mixture dries up, add the green chillies if using, soya sauce, sweet chillie sauce, ketchup, fish sauce, salt, pepper and chillie sauce. Mix well andlet simmer for 2 mins.
- Add the stir-fried chicken, mix in, cook on a high heat for 3 – 4 minutes, stirring gently with a wooden spoon, turn down the heat and cook covered for 5 – 7 minutes or longer if required, ensuring chicken is cooked through. (cooking time will vary depending on country you are in and on the type of chickens available).
- Add the peppers, curry leaves and mix in, sprinkle the green coriander and spring onions.
- This is how the chicken is served in Sri Lanka and is quite dry in consistency, as always my family likes a bit of ‘gravy’, so if that is your choice too, add a cup of boiling hot water to the chicken and simmer for 2 mins.
- Serve with plain boiled rice.
