How to Make Malaysian Chicken Curry Kapitan

Ingredients

• 1 tsp of Dried Chilli Flakes
• 250g Onions – about 2 Medium
• 10 cm Ginger
• 8 Garlic Cloves
• 2 tsp Five-Spice Powder
• 2 tsp Turmeric
• 4 Lemongrass Stalks
• 1/2 tsp of Shrimp Paste
• 2 tbsp Oil – Vegetable or nut, just make sure it’s flavourless
• 8 x Chicken Thighs – On the bone and skinned
• 1 Tin of Coconut Milk
• 2 Cinnamon Sticks
• 2 tsp Palm Sugar
• 2 Peppers Sliced
• 100g of Beans – I used runner beans as my garden is full of them
• Juice of 1/2 Lime
• Coriander

Instructions

1. The first thing to do is make the paste – once this is done the recipe practically cooks itself! Add all of the paste ingredients into a food processor and blend into a paste. If it’s a bit stiff add a little water.
2. Add the paste to a heavy pan on a medium heat; this is a perfect dish for cooking in a le cresuet. Cook for at least ten minutes until the paste begins to colour; the more you cook this out the darker your finished dish will be.
3. Into the paste, add the chicken, cook for a couple of minutes then add the coconut milk, cinnamon sticks and palm sugar. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and cook for about an hour – this can be done in the oven on a low heat.
4. After an hour your house will be full a beautiful heady aroma of coconut and spices. Next add the peppers and beans and cook for another 30 minutes.
5. Finally add the lime juice and most of the coriander.
6. Serve with rice, an Asian style tomato salad and garnish with coriander.

Quick notes

As with most curries this dish is better the day after its been cooked as the flavours have developed.

Variations

The peppers and beans are not exactly traditional but they add a nice bit of colour and texture; leave them out if you like.