Koklo mémé

Ingredients

Chicken

• 1whole chicken
• spatchcocked or jointed
• juice of 2 limes
• 2 teaspoonssalt

Marinade

• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 4cm ginger, grated
• 1onion, grated
• 4scotch bonnet chillies
• or to taste
• 3 tablespoonsred palm oil
• 2 tablespoonsoil
• 2 teaspoonsground white pepper
• 1stock cube
• 1 teaspoondried thyme

Tomato dip

• 5tomatoes, chopped
• 1onion, chopped
• 4scotch bonnet chillies
• 3garlic cloves
• 4 tablespoonsred palm oil
• 1stock cube
• salt

To serve

• grilled plantain
• or ablo, steamed bread
• raw onion rings
• cold beer

Directions

1. Reduce the chillies if you want it milder. Scotch bonnets are extremely hot. Wash hands, boards and knives thoroughly. Set the chicken breast side down. Cut along both sides of the backbone.
2. Use heavy scissors or a sharp knife. Remove the backbone from it entirely. Turn it over and press it flat. Press hard on the breastbone to crack it. Cut it into eight or ten pieces. Rub the chicken all over with lime juice. Add salt and rub it all in well. Let it sit for fifteen minutes.
3. Rinse it thoroughly in cold water. Pat the whole bird completely dry. Cut deep slashes into the thick parts. Cut into the thighs and the breast. They also help the thick parts cook through. Put the garlic, ginger and onion in a bowl. Chop the scotch bonnets and add them. Add the palm oil and the plain oil.
4. Add the white pepper and the thyme. Crumble the stock cube into it. Warm it gently until it liquefies. Do not overheat it or it darkens. Rub the marinade all over the chicken. Work it into every slash and fold. Cover it over and refrigerate it. Give it at least four full hours. Blend the tomatoes, onion and chillies. Add the garlic and blend it smooth. Heat the palm oil in a wide pan.
5. Add the blended mixture to it. Cooking the dip takes patience. Let it cook over a medium heat. Give it about twenty-five minutes. Stir it regularly as it reduces. Judging the dip takes a careful look. Crumble in the stock cube and season it. West African sauces are cooked until oil rises.
6. Wait until the coals are covered in grey ash. Chicken needs to cook through before browning. Set the chicken on the cooler side. Set it skin side up to start with. Cover it if your grill has a lid. Let it cook slowly for twenty-five minutes. Turn it every eight minutes or so. Brush the remaining marinade over it. Keep basting throughout the cooking. It also stops the meat drying out.
7. Baste it generously and very often. Give it about four minutes a side. Check the thickest part every time. Do not judge it by colour alone. Let it rest for a good five minutes. Serving it is always done piping hot. Cut it into pieces on a board. Serve the tomato dip in a bowl. Serve grilled plantain alongside. Add raw onion rings on the plate. Cold beer is drunk alongside it.

Technique

• Palm oil’s environmental reputation concerns industrial plantations, largely in Indonesia and Malaysia, where large areas of rainforest were cleared. West African red palm oil is a different case: much of it is smallholder and artisanal, the oil palm is native to West Africa and has been used there for thousands of years, and conflating the two is inaccurate. Red palm oil is also unrefined, keeping its colour and carotenoids, where the industrial commodity is bleached and deodorised.
• The sauce is cooked until the oil separates and rises, which shows the water has cooked away and the flavours concentrated; undercooked sauce tastes raw and sharp, and that separation is the standard test across West African cooking.
• Scotch bonnets are extremely hot and their oils stay on skin for hours, so never touch your eyes after handling them, wear gloves if handling many, and wash hands, boards and knives thoroughly.

Substitutions

• Any hot chilli stands in for scotch bonnet, adjusted for heat.
• Jointing the bird works as well as spatchcocking and cooks faster.

Variations

• The heat varies enormously between grills, and Togolese versions run hot.
• It is served with grilled plantain, with ablo, or with both.
• Some grills baste with palm oil alone and others use the full marinade.

History

Grilled chicken basted with chili and palm oil, the signature of Lomé’s roadside grills and beach bars.

Frequently asked questions

What is Koklo mémé?

Koklo mémé is a main from Togo: chili-rubbed grilled chicken with fiery tomato dip. Grilled chicken basted with chili and palm oil, the signature of Lomé’s roadside grills and beach bars.

How long does Koklo mémé take to make?

Koklo mémé takes 30 minutes plus marinating of preparation and 45 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Koklo mémé?

Yes, within limits. Any hot chilli stands in for scotch bonnet, adjusted for heat. Jointing the bird works as well as spatchcocking and cooks faster.

What is the most important thing to get right in Koklo mémé?

Rinse it thoroughly in cold water. Pat the whole bird completely dry. Cut deep slashes into the thick parts. Cut into the thighs and the breast. They also help the thick parts cook through. Put the garlic, ginger and onion in a bowl. Chop the scotch bonnets and add them. Add the palm oil and the plain oil.