Inche Kabin : Nonya Spiced Fried Chicken

Ah! I finally cooked Inche Kabin, a nonya recipe that I bookmarked for the longest time. I have eaten this fried chicken at a few restaurants and I must say that the experience was satisfactory until many weeks ago.

As I mentioned earlier, I am trying to clean out my freezer and there are two packets of chicken cubes (basically chopped chicken) that have been sitting in there for a few months. 

I divided the chicken pieces into two batches, one batch I marinated for this Inche Kabin while the other was simply set aside for another recipe.

There is a whole lot of spices used in the marinade and I admit that I tend to shut down when I see a long list of ingredients. 

It's just a matter of batching them up and I had all the spice powders in my pantry except for clove, so I simply left that out. There is no point going out to buy a bottle of clove powder when only 1/4 of a teaspoon of the spice is required.

Another marinade ingredient is pounded shallots and this lazy nonya used onion powder instead hee..hee...

As for the dipping sauce, the recipe called for mustard powder and lime juice when I had none. So I simply swapped with Dijon mustard and lemon. It worked like a charm, in fact it tasted way better than the one I had at the restaurant.

I marinated the chicken pieces overnight and the next day, brought the whole lot out from the fridge to stand to room temperature before deep frying in two batches.

I must give myself a pat on the shoulder as my Inche Kabin turned out really nice. The chicken was aromatic, crispy on the edges, tender and juicy. It was well worth the effort.

Inche Kabin (Nonya Fried Chicken)

Recipe source : Adapted from Nonya Flavors (page 118)

Ingredients :

- 600g chicken, chopped

- 1 tsp chili powder

- 1/2 tbsp corriander powder

- 1/2 tsp cumin powder

- 1/2 tsp fennel powder

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

- 1 tsp turmeric powder

- 1 tsp onion powder

- 1/2 tsp black pepper

- 1 tsp salt

- 50ml coconut milk 

For the dipping sauce :

- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

- 1 tbsp light soya sauce

- 1 tsp Dijon mustard

- 1 tsp sugar

- 1 tbsp lemon juice

- 2 bird's eye chilies, sliced

- 1/2 onion, finely diced

Method :

1. In a mixing bowl, mix all the spice powders , pepper, salt and coconut milk.

2. Add chicken to the spice mix and stir to coat the chicken pieces.

3. Set aside in the fridge overnight to marinate.

4. The next day, remove marinated chicken from the fridge and let stand to room temperature.

5. Heat oil in a deep pan and deep fry the chicken in batches until golden brown and crispy.

6. Drain paper towels to remove excess oil.

7. To make the dipping sauce, add all the ingredients together. Taste and adjust for seasoning if necessary.

8. Serve chicken hot with the dipping sauce.