Nyonya Chicken Curry

By vegar

Ingredients

• 3 Tbs coconut cream
• 10 sprigs of curry leaves
• 1 star anise
• 2 whole cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 1/2 kg chicken thigh fillets, cut in halves
• 500 g baby chat potatoes, peeled, halved and parboiled
• 2 bird’s eye chillies deseeded and halved lengthways
• 500 ml coconut milk
• 1 Tbs salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• Rempah (wet spice paste)
• 3 Tbs ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground fennel
• 15 dried long red chillies*, deseeded*, soaked in boiling water until soft, drained and chopped
• 20 g belacan
• 25 g fresh turmeric root, peeled and sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled, sliced
• 270 g red eschallots OR Spanish onion, peeled, sliced
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil

Preparation

Step 1

To make the rempah, blend the rempah ingredients until you achieve a fine paste.

Heat heavy based saucepan or wok, to a medium heat. Add rempah, coconut cream, curry leaves, star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick and saute for about 10 minutes. You will know the paste is ready when it thickens, darkens in colour and the oil begins to separate from the mixture. Add chicken pieces and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add potatoes, chillies, coconut milk, salt and sugar. Cover and simmer until chicken and potatoes are cooked through.

Serve with steamed jasmine rice or roti canai.