Kari kapitan, or Captain's chicken curry, is a classic Penang Nyonya dish. It is normally a richer, drier, and thicker version of the standard local chicken curry, with each household having its own family recipe.[1]
The origins of the name of the dish, Kari kapitan, are much debated. One popular suggestion is that a ship's captain during the colonial period in Penang asked his cook what was being prepared for dinner, to which the cook responded: 'Kari, kapitan!'. Nonetheless, the title 'kapitan' was first introduced during the 16th century by the Portuguese and was used to indicate a local leader, without any specifically nautical connotation.[2]
