Enche Kabin or Inche Kabin (Nyonya Fried Chicken)

Enche Kabin or Inche Kabin recipe, a delicious fried chicken, Nyonya/Peranakan Style, marinated with a curry type homemade paste.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Enche Kabin/Inche Kabin

Come again? I know, it’s a bit of a curious name isn’t it?! The word Enche means Mister in Malay and is pronounced IN-CHAYK, although the pronunciation of the letter K is softer in the Malay language. Enche Kabin or Inche Kabin is Fried Chicken, Nyonya style, essentially, the chicken is marinated in a fragrant curry mix, preferably overnight, and fried. Extremely delicious & moist despite the frying, it is often eaten with a spicy dip, as a snack. I love making these for barbecue season and love to add a little chilli to the mix too.

Want to know more about the Nyonyas, a unique cultural group in Singapore and Malaysia? Nyonya is a term for the women as Baba is for the men and they make up a unique community that has it roots in Malacca. Often also called the Straits Chinese (from The Straits of Malacca), ethnically they are Chinese but have over the years, whether through inter marriage or sheer assimilation, taken on some marked Malay characteristics, namely the language spoken and the style of dressing. Their food, consequently, reflects this amalgamation of cultures, resulting in an incomparable cuisine – rich, aromatic and one that makes you a believer with the very first mouthful!

Enche Kabin/Inche Kabin, Nyonya Fried Chicken Wings

This is a family recipe from a very old friend of mine, we’ve known each other for over 30 years, her gran used to make them and unlike many other enche kabin (or inche kabin) recipes, she loves adding some galangal & lemongrass for extra flavour. That’s what I’ve been doing over the years, I’ve simplified the recipe slightly as so many other nyonyas I know do;  instead of using the individual curry ingredients like cumin & coriander, I use a few tablespoons of curry powder.

Enche Kabin/Inche Kabin, Nyonya Fried Chicken

If you can, marinate your Enche Kabin chicken the night before for the deepest flavour. Perfect with any chicken part, wings for barbecuing & little breast cubes for neat, no mess canapés, as in the picture. I am not going to give you serving sizes, I’ll leave that up to you, it’s so yummy, you’ll keep going back for more. As I was making this and taking photos, I must have had a dozen little cubes, they’re so addictive! I’ve listed the amount of chicken as being 1kg, this would refer to chicken wings. If you are using boneless chicken, I suggest you reduce the amount of chicken to 750g.

Traditionally, this is deep fried but tastes just as delicious baked, grilled and definitely barbecued.

BEST MARINATED OVERNIGHT

Shall we get our aprons on?

If you like the recipe and article, don’t forget to leave me a comment and that all important, 5-star rating! Thank you!

And if you make the recipe, share it on any platform and tag me @azlinbloor.

Lin xx

Enche Kabin or Inche Kabin (Nyonya Fried Chicken)

Enche Kabin or Inche Kabin recipe, a delicious fried chicken, Nyonya/Peranakan Style, marinated with a curry type homemade paste.
5 from 10 votes
Print Pin Add to Collection
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Nyonya
Keyword: chicken
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Marinade Time: 6 hours
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6 (4-6)
Calories: 278kcal
Author: Azlin Bloor

Ingredients

  • 1 kg chicken wings
  • 150 ml coconut milk
  • 2 Tbsp curry powder
  • Oil for deep frying

The Marinade

  • 1 medium onion
  • 1 clove garlic
  • cm ginger
  • 1 cm galangal
  • 1 lemongrass
  • 1 tsp lime juice
  • tsp smooth mustard
  • half a red chilli chopped in tiny bits
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt

For the sauce

Instructions

  • Pound/Grind the marinade ingredients with as much of the coconut milk as is needed to make a smooth paste.
  • Mix the pounded ingredients with the rest of the coconut milk and the curry powder to make a smooth marinade.
  • Thoroughly coat the chicken pieces with the paste and leave to marinate overnight or a minimum of 6 hours.
  • Heat the oil until thoroughly hot. Drop a tiny piece of bread in, if it floats up immediately, the oil is hot enough.
  • Fry the chicken wings a few at a time, for about 8-10 minutes, making sure the meat is cooked right through. Of course if you are using tiny boneless breast meat, it will take less time, about 5-6 minutes.
  • Drain on kitchen towel and serve with the dipping sauce.

The Dipping Sauce

  • Mix all the ingredients together and serve. Can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 278kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 69mg | Sodium: 878mg | Potassium: 357mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 195IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 3mg
Did you make this recipe?Mention @azlinbloor and tag #linsfood!
Made it? Upload your photosMention @azlinbloor and tag #linsfood!

Share this with someone who'll love it!

10 thoughts on “Enche Kabin or Inche Kabin (Nyonya Fried Chicken)”

  1. These are beautiful appetizers. I love the way you present them with a piece of veggie over the little cup of dipping sauce. And the added lemongrass in the recipe sound refreshing and really brightens up the flavor. Can’t wait to try these. They would make perfect appetizers for any party.

  2. What a yummy marinade for the chicken wings! In fact all of the components look tasty. I wonder if you could grill the wings instead of frying them? I love cooking chicken wings on the grill and frying in this heat is not an option. Great bites!

  3. That looks yummy! I think I’m going to try making it over the weekend, though I think I’ll bake it in the oven. About 20 mins should do it, I guess?

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating