Lockdown Day #17 : Kari Kapitan

Actually I cooked this Kari Kapitan yesterday lah. Because somebody said my Kari Kapitan very nice heh...heh...heh...

This is also my one of my mum's favorites and she did ask me the other day what the ingredients were. So today, because lockdown is the only time when I have plenty of time, let's do a Kari Kapitan tutorial. The recipe I used is here (and please excuse the ugly photos)

First up, ingredients for the spice paste. 

These days it is very hard to get shallots (they can be pricey too) which is why I substituted with big onions.

Back in the good old days we had to pound the spice paste by hand. How tiring and how messy because the juices from the ingredients will splash out and you have to watch out for chili getting into your eye (I kena before).

See, short while only kautim! 

Then you have to saute (tumis) the spice paste over medium fire. Remember, you need a lot of oil for proper tumis rempah or else the result will not be good. 

You have to stir frequently to prevent burning and if anyone ding dong outside and you need to answer the door, please take your pot off the flame.

I tell you, I really love this Dutch oven that I Happy Christmas To Me. Sangat berbaloi! (so worth it!) 

Coming back to the rempah, saute until it is aromatic and they tell you that you have to do until pecah minyak (oil rise to the top). I will be honest and tell you that I have never experienced pecah minyak in my life. The oil usually rises after I finish cooking hah..hah...

So how? Taste. When the rempah is still raw, it is bitter. The sauteing process cooks off the rempah and evaporates the excess liquids and therefore the oil should rise (I put a lot of oil but maybe still not enough). When it is adequately sauteed, the rempah will no longer taste bitter and you are good to go. I sauteed for about 15 minutes.

Then add in the chicken. Here I used 4 legs, thigh and drumstick separated. Stir the chicken to coat in the spice paste.

Then add santan (coconut milk). I used santan that comes in a box of 200ml and to that I added 100ml of water. Flame must be low when adding santan or else the santan will curdle.

Then increase the flame and bring to a gentle simmer.

I love adding kaffir lime leaves to the Kari Kapitan because I love the fragrance. I feel that it gives the curry more oomph!

I simmer the curry for about 40 minutes until the chicken is tender. Every now and then, I poke my spatula into the curry and give it a stir to prevent burning.

Now where are the potatoes you ask? You see, I always find it hard to fit the potatoes into the pot and cook it to the right doneness together with the chicken.

So. I steam the potatoes while the chicken is simmering.

About 20 minutes - it is almost cooked, still firm and could do with more simmering in the curry. 

Once the chicken is done, I remove them and add the potatoes (cut into chunks) to the curry.

This is also the time when I season the curry. It is so much easier to stir the gravy now and taste properly. I simmer the potatoes for about 15 minutes.

At the end of the cooking, squeeze some lime juice into the curry for a slight tang (I forgot to do it). The recipe also call for some sugar for a slight sweetness but I have omitted as I felt it unnecessary.

There you go. Kari Kapitan. As with most curries, it tastes even better the next day.

This is also very good for freezing. I used to cook stuff like this and stash it in the freezer for later. So convenient. Your own DIY frozen food that can give those commercial frozen food a run for their money heh..heh...

I don't usually put potatoes in Kari Kapitan but potatoes are so popular. They taste really good with curry and I find people mostly digging into the curry for the potatoes. Haiz...

Cook more rice when you are serving Kari Kapitan. You will need it!