An Review of the Traditional Nyonya Food
Many western people reckon that all Asian cuisine are spicy and exotic. Whilst it might be true, there are still some milder dishes that can be appreciated by all.
If you are among the many lot that think in this manner, I have a very good news for you.Kapitan chicken is a dish that is comes from Malaysia, due to the cross cultural impact of culinary skills of the Malay towards the local Chinese group. This is one of the most legendary dishes served in most Nyonya restaurants.
If a person read the history of Malaysia, you will discover that this country had been colonized by the British, Portuguese and the Dutch since 15th centuries. Throughout the colonial time of Portuguese, the leader of the Chinese clan was recognized for the involvement to the society and was conferred the title called Kapitan. The intermarriage between the Chinese and Portuguese especially at the area of Melaka has produced the followings new generation called Peranakan. If has become the mainstream Peranakan cuisine loved by all walks of life in Malaysia.Peranakans meals are also known as Nyonya food as Nyonya means granny or Madam of the strait borned Chinese descendents
Upon going back to his own kitchen, he realized that it was too hot for the British captain and the workers.He improvised the recipe by drastically reduced the quantity of chili and included a number of Chinese ingredients.After he has perfected the dish, he wanted to showcase his new invention to his captain during one of the banquet. To his surprise, the captain enjoyed it very much and the got raved review from all of his visitors.The captain question what’s the name of the dish.The chef planned to satisfy the captain so he quickly said that it was captain’s chicken. Consequently, the name captain’s chicken or Kapitan chicken in the native words has since been used to terms this authentic local food.
Kapitan chicken can be considered as one of the many types of curries in Asia. The basic ingredients of curry are spices that usually includes chillies. However, the spies found in curries from various countries can be quite different. As an example, Indian curries are mostly include a mixture of spices such as cumin, fenugreek and cinnamon.In Japan, the curry is a lot sweeter consistent with many other Japanese meals. For Thai curry, green chilli is one of the major ingredients to prepare the renowned Thai green curry. Lastly, you can find yogurt and milk in some of the curry recipes from India.