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Curry Chicken with Potatoes (Nyonya Style)

Singapore-style Nyonya curry chicken with potatoes, slow-simmered in a fragrant rempah and coconut milk for a family-friendly, wok-braised main.

Curry Chicken with Potatoes (Nyonya Style)

About this dish

This Curry Chicken with Potatoes (Nyonya Style) is the kind of home-cooked comfort you find in Singapore heartlands — rich, slightly sweet, and layered with Peranakan spice paste (rempah). It’s a dish that turns up at family dinners, potlucks, and festive tables across neighbourhoods from Tiong Bahru flats to East Coast makan spots, and it’s just as at home on a zi char stall menu as it is at a home-cooked reunion meal.

The flavour profile is warm and aromatic: toasted candlenut and coriander in the rempah, a gentle hit of turmeric and galangal, mellowed by coconut milk and brightened with a little tamarind or lime. Texturally you get tender chicken pieces and melt-in-the-mouth potato chunks in a silky curry sauce that clings to rice — perfect scooped up with steamed jasmine rice or coconut rice. For Singapore palates, tweak the spice with chilli padi or keep it mild for kids and older relatives.

Make this if you want a fuss-free crowd-pleaser: the rempah can be blitzed in a blender, markets and supermarkets like NTUC FairPrice or Cold Storage stock most ingredients, and leftovers taste even better the next day. Serve it with achar or a simple cucumber salad, and you’ve got a truly local, Nyonya-style curry that brings the warmth of a kopitiam family meal to your own dining table.

Ingredients

  • 800 g bone-in chicken thighs, cut into chunky pieces (or 700 g boneless thighs)
  • 400 g potatoes, peeled and cut into large cubes
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil (or palm oil for deeper flavour)
  • 6 shallots, roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 3 cm fresh galangal (or 2 cm fresh ginger if unavailable)
  • 1 thumb turmeric (about 2 cm) or 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 4–6 dried chillies, soaked to soften (adjust to taste) or 2 tbsp chilli paste
  • 3 candlenuts (or 30 g raw cashews as substitute)
  • 1 stalk lemongrass, white part only, bruised and finely sliced
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
  • 1 tsp belacan (shrimp paste), toasted (optional but authentic)
  • 1 tbsp tamarind paste (asam jawa) mixed with 2 tbsp water, or 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 400 ml coconut milk (1 can)
  • 200 ml water or chicken stock
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
  • 2-3 kaffir lime leaves, torn
  • Salt to taste (about 1 tsp to start)
  • Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
  • Sliced red chillies or chilli padi for serving (optional)
  • Cooked jasmine rice or coconut rice, to serve

Step-by-Step Method

  1. Make the rempah (spice paste): in a blender, combine shallots, garlic, galangal, turmeric, soaked dried chillies, candlenuts, toasted coriander and cumin, belacan (if using) and 2 tbsp water. Blitz to a smooth paste. Scrape down sides once or twice.
  2. Prepare chicken and potatoes: pat chicken dry and season lightly with salt. Cut potatoes into large chunks so they hold together during simmering. Heat a wok over medium-high heat until hot.
  3. Fry the rempah: add oil to the hot wok, then lower heat to medium and add the rempah paste. Fry gently, stirring often, until fragrant and oil separates from the paste, about 5–7 minutes — this step builds depth like at a good zi char stall.
  4. Brown the chicken: increase heat to medium-high, add chicken pieces in a single layer and sear for 2–3 minutes per side until lightly browned. This seals in juices and adds caramelised flavour.
  5. Add liquids and potatoes: stir in light soy sauce, palm sugar, tamarind water and pour in coconut milk and water or stock. Toss in potato chunks and kaffir lime leaves. Bring to a gentle boil.
  6. Simmer gently: lower heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 25–30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender. If sauce reduces too fast, add a splash more water.
  7. Finish and adjust seasoning: taste the curry and adjust with more salt, sugar or tamarind/lime for balance. If you like it spicier, add sliced chilli padi. Simmer 2 more minutes to marry flavours.
  8. Serve: transfer to a serving bowl, garnish with fresh coriander and extra torn kaffir lime leaves. Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice or coconut rice and sides like achar or sambal belacan — perfect for family-style sharing.

Tips & Serving Ideas

  • Buy candlenuts and belacan at local wet markets or larger supermarkets like NTUC FairPrice or Cold Storage; substitute cashews for candlenuts if you can’t find them.
  • Toast whole spices like coriander and cumin briefly in a dry pan before blending to unlock fragrant oils — it lifts the rempah similar to hawker stall flavours.
  • Fry the rempah until the oil separates and the paste darkens slightly — this step adds depth; use medium heat to avoid burning candlenuts.
  • Adjust heat for the family: remove seeds from dried chillies for milder curry or add chopped chilli padi at the end for table-side spice.
  • Keep the curry at a gentle simmer after adding coconut milk to prevent splitting; bring to a bare simmer rather than a rolling boil.
  • Make-ahead: flavours deepen overnight — reheat gently on the stove. Freeze in portions for up to 2 months; thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
  • For a lighter version, use half coconut milk and half chicken stock, but add a teaspoon of sugar to balance flavours like in many Nyonya homes.

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