Ingredients
Chicken
- 1.5 kgchicken, jointed into 8–10 pieces on the bone
- 1 tspsalt
- 1 tspground black pepper
- 2garlic cloves, crushed
- 1lime, juiced
Groundnut sauce
- 250 gunsweetened peanut butter, or roasted groundnuts ground to a paste
- 3 tbspred palm oil or groundnut oil
- 2onions, finely chopped
- 4garlic cloves, minced
- 1thumb ginger, grated
- 2 tbsptomato puree
- 4tomatoes, grated, or 400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
- 1–2Scotch bonnet chillies
- 1stock cube
- 1 litrewater
- salt
To serve
- steamed white rice, boiled yuca or plantain
- 1small bunch coriander or African basil, torn
Directions
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper, garlic and lime juice and leave 20 minutes at room temperature.
- Brown the pieces in the palm oil in a wide heavy pot over medium-high heat, in two batches, 4 minutes a side. Set aside; the sticky brown fond left behind is the base of the sauce.
- Soften the onions in the same pot for 8–10 minutes until golden, scraping up the fond, then add the garlic and ginger for 1 minute.
- Add the tomato puree and fry 3 minutes until it darkens and loses its raw smell, then the grated tomatoes, and cook 10 minutes until the oil separates at the edges.
- Slacken the peanut butter with 300 ml warm water to a smooth cream in a bowl, then whisk it into the pot. Added dry it sets in lumps that never disperse.
- Return the chicken with the remaining water, the chilli and the stock cube. Simmer on low, half-covered, 40–45 minutes, stirring the bottom of the pot every 10 minutes.
- The sauce is ready when a slick of orange oil rises to the surface and it coats the back of a spoon; that split of oil is the traditional doneness signal.
- Check the salt, scatter over the herbs and serve with rice, boiled yuca or plantain, with extra chilli on the side.
Technique
- A groundnut sauce that has not released its oil is undercooked and tastes chalky and raw, however long the clock says.
- Stir often and keep the heat low; peanut sauce catches and scorches faster than any tomato stew and cannot be rescued once it does.
- Use unsweetened peanut butter. Sweetened supermarket brands turn the whole pot cloying.
Substitutions
- In Bata a piece of smoked fish or smoked turkey is often dropped in alongside; add it for the last 20 minutes for a deeper, smokier sauce.
Variations
- Made with smoked fish and no poultry at all when fresh meat is scarce, and served the same way over rice.
History
Groundnuts crossed from Brazil with Portuguese traders and became the base of this sauce shared with Cameroon and Gabon.
Frequently asked questions
What is Chicken in peanut sauce?
Chicken in peanut sauce is a main from Equatorial Guinea: chicken simmered in groundnut sauce, served with rice or yuca. Groundnuts crossed from Brazil with Portuguese traders and became the base of this sauce shared with Cameroon and Gabon.
How long does Chicken in peanut sauce take to make?
Chicken in peanut sauce takes 25 min of preparation and 1 hr 10 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4–6 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Chicken in peanut sauce?
Yes, within limits. In Bata a piece of smoked fish or smoked turkey is often dropped in alongside; add it for the last 20 minutes for a deeper, smokier sauce.
What is the most important thing to get right in Chicken in peanut sauce?
Slacken the peanut butter with 300 ml warm water to a smooth cream in a bowl, then whisk it into the pot. Added dry it sets in lumps that never disperse.
