CHICKEN CURRY KAPITAN
“This recipe is for chicken curry kapitan, and it’s from my maternal grandmother (poh poh). She’s been teaching me how to cook since I was a child, and she’s the best cook in the world! I know I’m biased, but I will always see her that way. I’m her first grandchild and she’s played a huge part in my upbringing, so we are very close.”
- LAURA MORYOSEF
SERVES 6 - COOKS IN 120
INGREDIENTS
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1kg chicken thighs
25g dried chillies
2 sprigs/pieces of lemongrass
2 pieces of galangal (or 2 teaspoons galangal powder)
A few fresh red chillies
¾ cup coconut oil
3 kaffir lime leaves
160mL coconut milk
½ teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons crushed peanuts
4 large cloves of garlic
2 tomatoes
2cm cube of belachan (Malaysian shrimp paste)
¼ juice of a lemon
METHOD
Trim 1kg chicken thighs into large pieces (removing fat).
Mix chicken in 1 teaspoon ground turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Put into the fridge to marinate for 1 hour.
Measure 25g dried chillies and remove the seeds; then soak in hot water for 1 hour.
Cut lemongrass as thinly as possible.
Cut galangal thinly (alternatively - you can use 2 teaspoons of galangal powder).
Dice 1½ onions, and cut 2 tomatoes into wedges.
Roughly chop 4 large cloves of garlic and a few red chillies, and break-up the belachan.
Place the dried chillies (which were soaked in hot water), fresh chillies, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, onion, and belachan into a food processor - and grind together until it forms a smooth chilli blend.
Put 5 tablespoons of coconut oil and chilli blend into a pan (you can also add a bit of salt, according to your taste). Cook on medium heat for about 15 minutes, constantly stirring.
This curry paste you have made is enough for 3 X chicken curry kapitan dishes, so you can store 2/3 in the freezer for up to 1 month - until you make it again next time (as developing the curry paste is the most time consuming part of the dish).
Fry chicken in coconut oil on high heat. When brown, remove from the pan and cut into smaller pieces.
Put 1/3 of curry paste, 3 kaffir lime leaves, 160mL of coconut milk, 2 tomatoes cut into wedges, ½ teaspoon sugar, ¼ juice of a lemon and 3 tablespoons crushed peanuts into a pan. Cook for a few minutes on medium heat, constantly stirring.
Add chicken to curry, and stir on low heat for 5 - 10 minutes.
Serve with rice, and enjoy!
DISH OF OUR HERITAGE
BY LAURA MORYOSEF