Monday, July 04, 2011

Inchi Kabin/Nyonya Fried Chicken

This is a Nyonya version of fried chicken. The nyonyas and babas are indigenous to the Straits Settlements of Penang, Malacca and Singapore and have their own cuisine which is mix of Chinese and Malay. Inchi Kabin is all know as Encik Cabin Chicken. And how does this dish have its unique name? The story goes like this. This dish was popularly cooked on the ship for sailors. Usually when the meal is ready, the chef will inform the sailors ‘Encik dalam cabin, chicken siap” (translation: Mister in the cabin, your meal is ready) this is how the dish got its name. This recipe uses simple combination of ingredients but the results were surprisingly delicious!


Ingredients:

1 small chicken – about 2.5 pounds

Marinate:

2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp chili powder – you can use less
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
4 tbsp coconut milk
Salt to taste

1. Clean chicken and cut it into small pieces. Drain it dry. Combined all the marinate ingredients together and add in the chicken. Mix really well and let the chicken marinate for 4 hours or overnight.
2. Heat up some oil; fry the chicken over medium heat until lightly brown. Remove the chicken. Heat up the same oil again until really hot and fry the chicken again until golden brown (for crispy results)
3. Remove the chicken and drain the oil on some paper towel. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Note: You don’t need any dipping sauce for this chicken as it is flavorful enough to eat it on its own.

I am entering this post in the Muhibbah Malaysian Monday roundup, created and hosted by Sharon of Test with a Skewer and Suresh of 3 Hungry Tummies.

16 comments:

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

with so many spices and herbs, this fried chicken must be very good aroma!

Mat Gebu said...

Gertt!! aik kus smangat guaa pun suka inchi kabin.. nak kasi pantun.

BIBIK NEO GILING CILI,
UNTUK MASAK GULAI IKAN,
INCHI KABIN SEDAP SEKALI,
MASAKAN KHAS ORANG PRANAKAN.

ijayuji said...

Hi gert! bhn senang dan i suke ayam rempah2 mcm nii, mesti try ur recipe pulak, thank you!

Cooking Gallery said...

I love fried chicken and I haven't had Nyonya style chicken for ages...! Yours look super good!

tinyskillet said...

This fried chicken is the way I would like it! So many good flavors, it has to be good! Thanks for sharing and the story behind it.

Little Inbox said...

Oh yes, this is so flavorful, with all the spices.

Shereen said...

Eh Gert,
Betul kar the story goes like that?...hahahah.Gua nyonya on the way to become Bibik pun tak tau...hahaha.Yup, we peranakans sure like our rempah wangi in our cooking.My mom selalu cakap, sebelum mulut dapat rasa,mata tengok mesti sedap, hidung bau mesti wangi.

ReeseKitchen said...

Yum Yum...this is one of my favorite nyonya dish. I remember I ate this somewhere but can't recall where..;p

Jeannie said...

Looks delicious! Would love to try one day:D

Little Corner of Mine said...

Simply fingers licking good!

mycookinghut said...

Gert, this is making me drooling!!

ICook4Fun said...

Sonia, yes this fried chicken is really good.

Mat, thank you for the pantun.

Ijayuji, you are welcome.

Cooking Gallery, hope you try this out as I am sure you are going to like it :)

Lyndsey, yes especially with all the spices in the marinate.

Little Inbox, yes they are.

Shereen, manalah tahu betul ke tidak. You know lah cerita dongeng :) This chicken memang sedap. Carlos pun suka jugak :)

Reese, must be at some Nyonya restaurant in town :)

Jeannie, hope you like it.

LCOM, yes there are :)

Leemei, sorry about that :)

shaz said...

Ha ha, I don't think I've heard the story of the origin of the name before. How cute. Thank you for another delicious contribution to MM Gert!

Shu Han said...

I found you from MM. that sounds delicious! I love the sound of those spices and flavourings! yum. interesting history lesson too (:

sokeleng said...

This chicken is really delicious. My hubby love it a lot. Do you know how to make the dip?

Lisa
www.bakingfrenzy.com

George said...

this disk was actually created by a group of Hainanese cook in the early 50' in Penang. as they neither speak english or hockien, they use hainanese to name their disk, (醃炸鸡片)pronounce in hainanese dialet, hence the name.