Poulet DG

Ingredients

Chicken and marinade

• 1.5 kgchicken, jointed into 10 pieces
• 6garlic cloves, crushed
• 20 gfresh ginger, grated
• 1onion, grated
• 2stock cubes
• 1 tspwhite pepper
• 1 tspthyme
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tspsalt

Plantains

• 4ripe but firm plantains, peeled and cut in thick diagonal slices
• 600 mlvegetable oil, for frying

Vegetables

• 2carrots, in batons
• 200 ggreen beans, topped and halved
• 1red and 1 green pepper, in strips
• 2onions, sliced
• 3tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsptomato paste
• 3garlic cloves, chopped
• 1leek, sliced
• 2celery sticks, sliced
• 1chilli, chopped
• 150 mlwater

Directions

1. Marinate the chicken pieces in the garlic, ginger, grated onion, stock cubes, white pepper, thyme, lemon and salt for at least 30 minutes, or overnight.
2. Heat the oil to 170°C (350°F) and fry the plantain slices in batches for 3 to 4 minutes until deep gold at the edges and soft in the middle. Drain on a rack — on paper they steam and go limp.
3. Wipe the marinade off the chicken and fry the pieces in the same oil for 8 to 10 minutes until browned and nearly cooked through. Drain and set aside. Pour off all but 4 tbsp of the oil.
4. Blanch the carrots and green beans in salted boiling water for 3 minutes, then refresh in cold water so they stay bright and crisp.
5. In a wide pan, fry the sliced onions in the reserved oil for 6 minutes, then add the garlic, leek, celery and chilli for 2 minutes.
6. Add the tomato paste and fry it 5 minutes until it darkens and the oil separates, then the chopped tomatoes and the water, and simmer 8 minutes into a thick sauce.
7. Return the chicken to the pan, cover and simmer 10 minutes so it finishes cooking in the sauce, then fold in the peppers, carrots and beans and cook 4 minutes more — the vegetables should keep some bite.
8. Fold in the fried plantains at the very end and toss for 2 minutes, just long enough to coat them without letting them break up. Serve immediately, while the plantain still has crisp edges.

Technique

• The name means ‘Director General chicken’ — a dish rich and generous enough to serve a big man. It is party food, and the point is abundance: whole chicken, plenty of plantain, plenty of vegetables.
• Plantains must be ripe but still firm, yellow with black flecks. Green ones stay starchy and refuse to caramelise; fully black ones dissolve into mush in the sauce.
• Everything is cooked separately and combined at the end. Simmering it all together turns the vegetables grey and the plantains to porridge.

Substitutions

• No plantain: very firm ripe bananas fried briefly will do in an emergency, but they are sweeter and much more fragile.
• The chicken can be roasted at 200°C (400°F) for 25 minutes instead of deep-fried, which is lighter and closer to how many home cooks now make it.

Variations

• Some cooks add green peas and sweetcorn, a Yaoundé restaurant style.
• A version made with prawns instead of chicken appears on the coast around Kribi and Douala.

History

Named directeur général chicken because the plantain and chicken dish was costly enough for bosses when it appeared in Cameroonian cities in the 1980s.

Frequently asked questions

What is Poulet DG?

Poulet DG is a main from Cameroon: directeur Général chicken sautéed with ripe plantains and vegetables. Named directeur général chicken because the plantain and chicken dish was costly enough for bosses when it appeared in Cameroonian cities in the 1980s.

How long does Poulet DG take to make?

Poulet DG takes 35 min of preparation and 45 min of cooking. The recipe makes 5 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Poulet DG?

Yes, within limits. No plantain: very firm ripe bananas fried briefly will do in an emergency, but they are sweeter and much more fragile. The chicken can be roasted at 200°C (400°F) for 25 minutes instead of deep-fried, which is lighter and closer to how many home cooks now make it.

What is the most important thing to get right in Poulet DG?

The name means ‘Director General chicken’ — a dish rich and generous enough to serve a big man. It is party food, and the point is abundance: whole chicken, plenty of plantain, plenty of vegetables.