Thursday 14 June 2018

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.

13 comments:

  1. it looks good, creativity in our own kitchens leads to good solutions:)

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  2. Have taken my lunch, but see it makes me feel like eating it...

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  3. I had that at nyonya restaurants in Melaka and Penang before but no, it did not get me all excited. Maybe they did not do it well - that is one problem I seem to encounter at those restaurants. Nothing like own home-cooked at home.

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  4. wipe saliva....wipe....wait ah...gotta wipe again

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  5. Oh, I see you brought out your nyonya plate for this dish. I will just admire your lovely inche kabin from afar since 1) I don't have any of the 7 spices listed in your marinade (ok, maybe 6 if I substitute cayenne with chilli power (kekeke!) and 2) I don't do fried chicken at home coz they leave a big mess (haha!).

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  6. Just looking at your inche kabin nyonya spicy fried chicken makes me drool! I love the dipping too!

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  7. Nothing beat the feeling of eating a tasty dish that you cooked yourself, right? I like to eat inche kabin chicken too but prefer those pieces without bones because I am lazy like that.

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  8. I love Nonya fried chicken & miss my helper's cooking! xoxo

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  9. Hi Phong Hong, has been awhile I have not eaten this Nyonya fried chicken. Its awesome with that dipping sauce.

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  10. Oh gee that is a long list of spices. Sounds yummy.

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  11. Nyonya fried chicken! I would like that. Sounds flavorful and tasty.

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  12. Looking at the lost list of spices that I don't have most of them, I decide to have it outside instead of cook it myself, haha!

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