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Make this absolutely delicious, rich, and super aromatic Nyonya/Peranakan style chicken curry that you will want to make over and over again. The recipe can be done with Instant Pot pressure cooker too.
WHAT IS CHICKEN CURRY KAPITAN ?
There are so many different curries across Southeast Asia. This chicken curry Kapitan is one of my favorites and it is of Peranakan origin (fusion between Chinese and Malay). The word “Kapitan” referred to Captain/Chief. The story has it that chicken curry Kapitan was prepared by cooks to serve to the Captains/Chiefs during Western colonization in Malaysia, and hence the name curry Kapitan. Curry Kapitan has thicker gravy compared to other curry dishes you may have seen or tasted before, which could be more “soupy”.
CUTS OF CHICKEN TO USE
I strongly suggest using bone-in chicken pieces like drumsticks, thighs, leg quarters (cut into smaller pieces). Smaller pieces like chicken wing sections will work too.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN CURRY KAPITAN
1. MARINATE CHICKEN
Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add turmeric powder. Small pinch of salt and 1 Tbsp of oil. Let them marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight if you have the time
2. BROWN THE CHICKEN (IN THE OVEN OR ON THE STOVE)
You can skip this step if you cut the chicken into smaller bite-size pieces. I use large drumsticks and I find that browning/searing the chicken pieces add some extra depth of flavor. Arrange the drumsticks on the rack and broil on low heat in the oven until golden brown and then flip to the other side and broil until golden brown
The chicken are not cooked through at this point
3. PREPARE SPICE PASTE
Soak the dried chili in warm water for about 10-15 minutes or until softened. Put all ingredients for spice paste in a food processor or blender and blend into a paste
4. COOKING
Preheat 2 Tbsp of oil. Pour the blended spice in a wok and stir fry over medium heat. Saute for about 1 minute
Add shrimp paste, tamarind extract, lemongrass stalks.
Continue to stir fry until the spice is aromatic and the oil starts to separate from the spice, about 5 minutes
Add coconut milk and water.
Add the chicken pieces and bring it to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer uncovered until the chicken pieces are cooked through, about 30-40 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken). 10 minutes before the end of cooking time, I added potato pieces that I quartered. If you cut them smaller, you probably only need 5 minutes to cook them. Have a final taste and add more salt and/or sugar if necessary
WHAT TO SERVE KARI KAPITAN WITH
They are good with rice, crusty bread to mop those sauce, the best garlic naan bread, roti jala. I have tossed the leftover sauce with some pasta before too and it was so good.
LEFTOVER TASTES BEST
If you make chicken curry Kapitan the day before, the flavor gets even better the next day, just like the case with many stews, curries, and rendang. So this is a perfect dish to cook up in big batches and eat for a few days.
DID YOU MAKE THIS CHICKEN CURRY KAPITAN RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
How To Cook Kari Ayam Kapitan (Nyonya Curry Chicken)
Ingredients
To marinate chicken:
- 8 chicken drumsticks about 2 1/2-3 lbs, or use other cut like chicken thighs or legs
- 3 Tbsp cooking oil divided
- 1 Tbsp turmeric powder
Other ingredients:
- 5 kaffir lime leaves cut into strips
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 2 Tbsp tamarind extract or use juice from 1 lime (or to your taste)
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ½ cup water
Seasonings:
- 1 tsp salt or more to taste
- 2 Tbsp coconut sugar or use brown sugar, or more to taste
Spice paste:
- 5 candlenuts or use macadamia nuts
- 3 stalks lemongrass (white parts), save the green parts for cooking later
- 1 inch turmeric root or use 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 inch galangal root or use 1 Tbsp galangal powder
- 1 inch ginger root
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 large onion (quartered) or use 10 shallots
- 100 gr fresh red chilies about 3.5 oz. I use red jalapeno peppers
- 10 dried red chilies
Instructions
Marinate the chicken:
- Place the chicken in a large bowl. Add turmeric powder. Small pinch of salt and 1 Tbsp of oil. Let them marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight if you have the time
Brown the chicken if you like (optional step):
- If you don't mind the extra step, you can brown the marinated chicken pieces on a pan until the skin is golden brown on both sides, but not cooked through yet
- I actually put the chicken drumsticks in the oven to broil it on low to brown the skin. I feel like it's faster that way 🙂
Prepare the spice paste:
- Soak the dried chili in warm water for about 10-15 minutes or until softened. Put all ingredients for spice paste in a food processor or blender and blend into a paste. The oil will help the blending process
Cooking on the stove:
- Preheat 2 Tbsp of oil. Pour the blended spice in a wok and stir fry over medium heat. Saute for about 1 minute then add kaffir lime leaves, shrimp paste, tamarind extract, green part of lemongrass stalks that we didn't blend earlier. Continue to stir fry until the spice is aromatic and the oil starts to separate from the spice, about 5 minutes
- Add coconut milk and water. Add the chicken pieces and seasonings and bring it to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer uncovered until the chicken pieces are cooked through, about 30-40 minutes (depending on the size of the chicken). 10 minutes before end of cooking time, I added potato pieces that I quartered. If you cut them smaller, you probably only need 5 minutes to cook them. Have a final taste and add more salt and/or sugar if necessary. The taste should be savory, slightly spicy, with hint of sweetness and tartness
Cooking with Instant Pot:
- Press saute on Instant Pot. When it's "hot", add 2 Tbsp of cooking oil. Pour the blended spice in a wok and stir fry over medium heat. Saute for about 1 minute then add kaffir lime leaves, shrimp paste, tamarind extract, lemongrass stalks (the upper green parts that we didn't blend earlier). Continue to stir fry until the spice is aromatic and the oil starts to separate from the spice, about 5 minutes
- Add coconut milk and water. Scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure nothing gets stuck at the bottom of the pot as it might trigger "burn" alert by IP. Put the chicken pieces and seasonings in. Close the lid. Turn steam release valve to "sealing". Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on high pressure. Set timer to 15 minutes. Wait 5 minutes and then release pressure
- You will end up with more liquid when you cook with IP because not much liquid evaporates. I remove the cooked chicken pieces to a plate and will continue to reduce the sauce. Press saute again to bring it back to simmer and reduce the sauce. Make sure to stir every now and then to prevent anything catches on the bottom of the pot. Add potatoes in and cook until they are soft but not mushy. When the sauce is thick enough for you, turn saute off and add chicken pieces back in or transfer out to another pot for serving
Serving suggestions:
- Serve with rice, naan bread, or roti jala. These are just few examples
6 comments
Any shortcuts to recommend vs putting that spice paste together? a product that mostly works?
OMG this was AMAZING!! As a Malaysian who grew up outside of her country, I am ashamed to say that I’ve never been able to make a proper curry like those found at home. I need a recipie to follow as I am not an intuitive cook and every recipie I’ve tried prior to this has been a disappointment. But boy am I glad that I tried your recipie! I did make a few substitutions as I didn’t have certain ingredients (lemon zest instead of white part of lemon grass, lime juice instead of tamarind pulp and liquid stevia instead of brown sugar as I am on keto) but it was fantastic! Thank you thank you thank you
Hi Kam, I’m very happy to know that you approved of the taste 🙂 I love your creative substitution and thank you for sharing how you make it Keto-friendly too 🙂 It’s hard when you don’t live in your home country but I’m glad at least this did not disappoint you! Thank you for taking time to let me know 🙂
None come the fun part finding all the spices!
You mentioned using instant pot but I don’t see instructions for that part. Have you tried it with IP or you think the reducing of sauce is necessary? I find IP doesn’t reduce the sauce enough.
Hi Dian, the instruction for instant pot wasn’t “saved” after I typed it (gotta love technology sometimes!), anyway, I’ve retyped it. No, IP will not reduce the sauce enough because not much liquid is lost like cooking on the stove. So, I reduce it further using saute mode. I’ve updated the recipe and hopefully it clarifies things for you.