CHICKEN KAPITAN

SERVES 4, OR 8 AS PART OF A SHARED ASIAN BANQUET

What I love about this curry is that it is so easy: blend all the ingredients and you’re ready to go. This is also a great curry for seafood, so cook the paste, add the seasoning and coconut cream and cook for about 10 minutes, then add prawns, scallops or fish. If you cook it gently it won’t overcook.

90 ml (3 fl oz) vegetable oil

300 g (10½ oz) spice paste

400 ml (14 fl oz) coconut cream

2 small stems lemongrass hearts, thinly sliced into thin rounds

800 g (1 lb 12 oz) skinless chicken thigh fillets, cut into 6 pieces each

400 ml (14 fl oz) coconut milk

2 tablespoons light palm sugar (jaggery)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

SPICE PASTE

1 tablespoon belachan (Malaysian shrimp paste)

2 dried red chillies, seeded and soaked in warm water

4 fresh long red chillies, seeded

6 red Asian shallots, chopped

4 garlic cloves, chopped

30 g (1 oz/¼ cup) chopped macadamia nuts

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/Gas 4).

For the spice paste, place the shrimp paste in a small frying pan andcook for about 10 minutes or until fragrant. Allow to cool. Place all theother spice paste ingredients, along with the shrimp paste, into a blenderand blend to a fine paste.

For the curry, heat the oil in a wok over high heat. Add the spice paste and cook until fragrant, stirring frequently, for about 12 minutes, taking care not to burn it. Add half the coconut cream and the lemongrass and stir-fry until the cream separates.

Add the chicken and cook for about 6 minutes until well coated with the spice paste. Add the coconut milk and palm sugar, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Add the lime juice and the remaining coconut cream. Check the balance of flavours before serving and add more palm sugar, fish sauce or lime juice as necessary.