Kapitan Chicken Curry is a delicious Nyonya dish, distinctly flavoured using tamarind juice, candlenut, fresh turmeric root and belacan shrimp paste, and among other ingredients. In case that you don’t know yet, Nyonya cooking mixes the cooking styles and ingredients of the Chinese and Malay communities in Malaysia, coming up with a cuisine that features strongly in the Malaysian culinary landscape.

It bears some similarity to your typical chicken curry, but the broth of Nyonya style Kapitan Chicken Curry is a little bit more on the red side due to using more chillies. And because more chillies are used, the curry is spicier and has a stronger flavor to it. This makes it a perfect dip for plain toast or buns; sure, using curry as a dip might be seen as a little bit old-fashioned, but it’s still an enjoyable pastime to many of us in Malaysia and Singapore.

Of course, like with any curry, you’re not stuck with one set of ingredients. Instead of chicken, you can use beef, mutton or even pork as the main protein. Or perhaps you love potato? Why not add it in, and cook it with Nyor Nyar’s Kapitan Curry Paste. You’ll love this curry dish! Best served hot with plain rice.