Looking For An Easy Yet Exotic Dish? Try Kapitan Chicken: A Nyonya Favorite

Like chili, every cook has a slightly different recipe

Kari Kapitan (Kapitan Chicken) image by author

This delicious dish was created at BaBa Phang, a well-known local Nyonya restaurant in Penang.

I think it’s the best food in Asia.

The British brought Chinese immigrants to work in the tin mines and rubber plantations in the 19th century Malaysia.

Many of them brought their families along.

---

Paid subscribers can access every article I’ve ever written here. If you aren’t a paid subscriber, you can access the archive for free with a 7-day trial.

---

---

Nyonya cuisine comes from descendants of early Chinese migrants who settled in Malaysia. They inter-married with local Malay people. When these two rich cultures merged, they created a one-of-a-kind blend of history and traditions.

The local Malaysian men, or Peranakans, are known as Baba, while the women are known as nonya (or Nyonya).

This community was essential in the early years when the Malacca Straits were being developed. They were hard-working and contributed to mining, trade, agriculture, and banking.

Baba Nyonya culture is characterized by its elaborate and colorful traditional dress, intricate architecture, and ornate household items such as porcelain, furniture, and jewelry.

Nyonya food is not to be missed.

Honestly, I think the mothers-in-law on both sides of the family had a competition. They combined local ingredients and their cultural dishes in unique and delicious ways. That resulted in some delicious new recipes.

Kari Kapitan is an old recipe that’s been handed down over generations. Each family added slight variations so it’s like a good stew or chili. No two Kari Kapitan are the same.

It combines Indian curry with Malaysian and Chinese ingredients. It’s a thicker version of the standard local chicken curry.

Watch the video to the end to find out how this dish got its name

Kari Kapitan is a Penang Peranakan chicken curry dish but is richer, thicker, and drier with elements from Chinese, Malay, and Indian cuisines.

Kaffir lime leaves and coconut milk are used in this mild curry.

Here’s the recipe: Serves 8–10

Ingredients

• 1 kg chicken, cut into preferred sizes and washed in water

• the juice of a lemon

• ¼ cup cooking oil
  

  Grind to a fine paste

• 18 shallots, peeled and chopped

• 5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

• 2 cm ginger, peeled and chopped

• 4 cm galangal, peeled and chopped

• 8 red chillies, chopped

• 20 dried chilies, cut and soaked in hot water

• 4 cm turmeric, peeled and chopped

• 4 stalks lemongrass, sliced

• 2 cm shrimp paste

• 4 candlenuts, chopped
  

• 8 kaffir lime leaves
  

• 3–4 potatoes, peeled and cubed

• 250 ml coconut cream

• 5 cups water

• the juice of 2 limes

• 1 tsp pepper

• sugar and salt to taste

• fried shallots for garnish

Here’s how to put it together. It’s seriously simple.

1. Heat oil in a pot and sauté the paste with the kaffir lime leaves until fragrant and crisp.

2. Stir in the chicken and cook until the meat is well coated with the paste.

3. Add potatoes, coconut cream, water, lime juice, and pepper and season with sugar and salt to taste.

4. Boil until the chicken is tender, the oil surfaces and the gravy thickens.

5. Garnish the dish with fried shallots and serve with any bread or plain rice.

---

Paid subscribers can access the entire archive of my stories from the beginning, along with my poetry and every article I’ve ever written here. If you aren’t a paid subscriber, you can access the archive for free with a 7-day trial.

---

---

Here’s another unique dish that is one of my favorites