Name: Malaysian Kapitan Chicken
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 1 h 15 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Malaysian
Ingredients: 80ml (1/3 cup) peanut oil; 800g (1 lb 12 oz) chicken thigh fillets, excess fat trimmed, quartered; 270ml can (9 fl oz) coconut milk; 6 fresh makrut lime leaves; 1 lemongrass stalk, bruised; 1 tbsp fresh lime juice; 1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar; Steamed rice or roti, to serve; Spice paste; 10 dried red chillies; 5 small red shallots, peeled, chopped; 4cm-piece (1.5”) galangal, peeled chopped; 3cm–piece (1 3/16”) ginger, peeled, chopped; 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, chopped; 4 candlenuts or macadamia nuts; 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric; 1 tsp shrimp paste

Malaysian Kapitan Chicken

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Bring the flavours of Malaysia into your home with this rich, flavourful and standout curry. So incredibly unctious, it’s impossible to resist.

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Malaysian Kapitan Chicken

PREP TIME

10 minutes

COOK TIME

1 hour 15 minutes

SERVES

Ingredients

80ml (1/3 cup) peanut oil

800g (1 lb 12 oz) chicken thigh fillets, excess fat trimmed, quartered

270ml can (9 fl oz) coconut milk

6 fresh makrut lime leaves

1 lemongrass stalk, bruised

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar

Steamed rice or roti, to serve

Spice paste

10 dried red chillies

5 small red shallots, peeled, chopped

4cm-piece (1.5”) galangal, peeled chopped

3cm–piece (1 3/16”) ginger, peeled, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, chopped

4 candlenuts or macadamia nuts

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp shrimp paste

Steps

To make the paste, soak the dried chillies in hot water for 10-15 minutes or until softened. Remove the chillies (it doesn’t matter if you don’t drain them completely as some water is fine). Reserve the chilli soaking water. Roughly chop the chillies and then place them into the bowl of a small food processor along with the remaining ingredients and a large pinch of salt. Blend until smooth, adding some of the chilli soaking water a tablespoon at a time if the ingredients aren’t blending smoothly.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the paste and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until the oil has risen to the surface of the paste. Add the chicken and increase heat to high. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until the chicken is sealed. Add the coconut milk, ½ cup water, lime leaves, lemongrass and a pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 35 minutes or until the curry is thick and the chicken very tender.
Season the curry with lime juice, sugar and extra salt if needed. Serve with rice or roti.

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Malaysian Kapitan Chicken

Bring the flavours of Malaysia into your home with this rich, flavourful and standout curry. So incredibly unctious, it’s impossible to resist.
PREP TIME	10 minutes
COOK TIME	1 hour 15 minutes
SERVES	4

Ingredients

80ml (1/3 cup) peanut oil

800g (1 lb 12 oz) chicken thigh fillets, excess fat trimmed, quartered

270ml can (9 fl oz) coconut milk

6 fresh makrut lime leaves

1 lemongrass stalk, bruised

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp caster (superfine) sugar

Steamed rice or roti, to serve

Spice paste

10 dried red chillies

5 small red shallots, peeled, chopped

4cm-piece (1.5”) galangal, peeled chopped

3cm–piece (1 3/16”) ginger, peeled, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, chopped

4 candlenuts or macadamia nuts

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp shrimp paste

Steps

To make the paste, soak the dried chillies in hot water for 10-15 minutes or until softened. Remove the chillies (it doesn’t matter if you don’t drain them completely as some water is fine). Reserve the chilli soaking water. Roughly chop the chillies and then place them into the bowl of a small food processor along with the remaining ingredients and a large pinch of salt. Blend until smooth, adding some of the chilli soaking water a tablespoon at a time if the ingredients aren’t blending smoothly.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add the paste and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until the oil has risen to the surface of the paste. Add the chicken and increase heat to high. Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes or until the chicken is sealed. Add the coconut milk, ½ cup water, lime leaves, lemongrass and a pinch of salt. Reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 35 minutes or until the curry is thick and the chicken very tender.
Season the curry with lime juice, sugar and extra salt if needed. Serve with rice or roti.

Jess

March 20, 2023

Authentic and delicious

Made this over the weekend, instructions were straightforward and the curry is packed full of flavour! This will be a dish to whip up if you want to impress your friends and family! Thank you for this amazing and authentic recipe!

David

September 5, 2022

Just delicious.

I made this last weekend. We all loved it, very easy to follow the video and the tips make taste like the local Chinese restaurant make.

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