How to Cook Kapitan Chicken Curry
Serves: 4
Preparation time: overnight
Cooking time: 45 mins
Ingredients needed to make Kapitan Chicken Curry:
- 4 chicken legs
- 2 onions, sliced
- 4-6 lime leaves, finely shredded
- 2 tbsp freshly squeezed out lime juice
- 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp palm sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 14 oz thick coconut milk
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
For the spice paste:
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp chopped Thai ginger or galangal
- 13 oz shallots, coarsely chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh root ginger, chopped
- 1 tsp turmeric root, chopped
- 2 soft inner stem of lemongrass stalks, coarsely chopped
- 4-6 macadamia nuts
- 1 small ginger flower, chopped
- 1 tsp shrimp paste, lightly sautéed until fragrant
- 1 dried red chili, broken
- 2 fresh red chilies, coarsely chopped
For serving:
- Fried shallots, sliced
- 1 red chili, sliced
- Steamed rice
Cooking instructions for Kapitan Chicken Curry:
- To cook the chicken, throw the chicken legs into a shallow dish and season with a dash of salt and turmeric powder.
- Put a lid on and marinate it in the refrigerator overnight; take it out 30 mins before the time of cooking.
- To make the spice paste, throw in all its ingredients into a food processor and pulse them into a smooth puree.
- Drizzle 3 tbsp oil in a large frying pan and wait until it turns smoking hot over moderate flame.
- Dump the chicken into it and sear them for about 4-6 minutes each side, until it turns golden.
- Transfer it to a plate, lined with paper towel and set aside.
- Pour in rest of the oil into a hot wok and heat it over moderate flame.
- Throw in the onions, along with the spice paste, and sauté for a couple of minutes, stirring often, until it turns fragrant.
- Add the chicken into the sautéed mixture and continue to cook for about 8 minutes.
- Add a splash of coconut milk into the mixture, followed by sugar as well as lime leaves and give it a nice stir to mix well.
- Bring it to a simmer and continue to do so for about half an hour or until the meat is cooked through.
- Stir in a splash of lime juice and remove from heat.
- Pour the curry into a large serving bowl and top it up with fried shallots and sliced red chilies.
- Serve warm alongside steamed rice.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
