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1
Grind the shallots, garlic, candlenuts, ground coriander, and ground cumin to a smooth paste using a stone mortar or blender. The paste should be uniform with no visible shallot or nut fragments.
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2
Heat the oil in a heavy pot over a medium flame. Fry the spice paste, stirring constantly, until it smells cooked-through and loses its raw, sharp edge — fragrant but not browned. This is where the dish lives or dies: under-fried paste delivers a raw, floury undertone that no amount of simmering will correct; over-fried paste breaks the white colour that defines opor.
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3
Add the bruised galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, and salam or bay leaves. Stir them through the paste for one minute until they release their fragrance into the oil.
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4
Add the chicken pieces and turn to coat them in the paste. Pour in the coconut milk. Bring slowly to a gentle simmer — never a rolling boil, which would cause the coconut milk to split and yellow the sauce. The surface should show only a slow, lazy bubble.
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5
Simmer uncovered, turning the chicken occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced and thickened slightly. The chicken is done when the flesh pulls cleanly from the bone with light pressure.
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6
Stir in the coconut cream and palm sugar. Season with salt. Return to the lowest possible simmer for five minutes. Taste: the finished opor is sweet-savoury, fragrant with coriander and cumin warmth, with no spicy heat and no sour note — pale, gentle, and restrained.