Ingredients
The chicken
- 1.5 kgchicken pieces
- on the bone
The marinade
- 6large onions
- thinly sliced
- juice of 6 lemons
- or 4 lemons and 2 limes
- 4 tablespoonsDijon mustard
- 6garlic cloves, crushed
- 2stock cubes, crumbled
- 4 tablespoonsoil
- 2bay leaves
- black pepper
- 1scotch bonnet, whole
To cook
- oil, for browning
- about 300 ml water
- salt
To serve
- plain white rice
- or broken rice
- the onion sauce over it
Directions
- Check it rather than guessing. Wash hands after handling raw chicken. Wash boards and knives as well. Do not let raw juices touch other food.
- Slice all of the onions very thinly. Thin slices cook down to a sauce. Slice them as thin as you can. It takes real time with six onions. Mix the onions with the lemon juice. Add the mustard and crushed garlic. Add the stock cubes and the oil. Add the bay leaves and pepper.
- Taste it before adding any more. Adjust the seasoning at the end instead. Add the chicken to the marinade. Turn it to coat every single piece. It should be surrounded by them.
- Turn it once or twice as it sits. Four hours is a good minimum here. Lift the chicken out of the marinade. Keep all of the onions and liquid. Do not throw any of it away at all. Heat up a grill or a barbecue. Grill the chicken until charred. It does not need to cook through here.
- Set it aside once it is charred. Heat oil in a large heavy pot. Add all of the marinated onions. It looks like far too much onion. Use the largest pot that you have. Add it in batches if it will not fit. Cook the onions for about twenty minutes. They should soften completely.
- Add the reserved marinade liquid. Add the water and the whole chilli. Season the whole pot with salt. Add the grilled chicken to the pot. It should be covered by the onions. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Cover it and then let it cook. Give it about thirty full minutes. Take the lid off near the end. Let the sauce reduce and thicken. It should be thick with soft onions.
- Reduce it further if it is loose. Lift the whole chilli right out. It can burst on a spoon otherwise. Take it right out before serving. Discard the hot chilli carefully. Taste the sauce and adjust it. It should be sharply sour and savoury.
- Add more lemon juice if it is flat. Serving it is always done hot. Spoon the rice onto each plate. Lay the chicken over the rice. Spoon the onion sauce over it. Every plate should be well covered.
Technique
- Six large onions is not a mistake: raw sliced they fill an enormous bowl and collapse to a fraction of that, and the finished sauce is mostly onion. They are the dish rather than a flavouring, so slice them as thin as you can and use the largest pot you have, adding them in batches if they will not fit.
- Citrus acid breaks meat down over time, so overnight is the practical marinating limit and much beyond a day makes the chicken mushy and pale.
- Scrape the onion off the chicken before grilling, since onion on the surface burns and stops the skin charring — but keep every scrap of it, along with the marinade liquid, because that becomes the sauce.
Substitutions
- A hot pan or oven grill stands in for a barbecue; the point is real charring rather than the equipment. The chicken does not need to cook through at this stage, since it finishes in the sauce.
- A whole unbroken scotch bonnet perfumes the pot without releasing all its heat; lift it out before serving so it cannot burst on someone’s spoon.
Variations
- Yassa comes from Casamance in Senegal and is Jola in origin, spreading across West Africa from there; Guinea adopted it into its own restaurant and party cooking. The atlas records both where a dish comes from and where it is now eaten, since adopting a dish does not erase its origin.
- Cook the onions down for a full twenty minutes until soft and golden, since that sweetness is what balances the very large quantity of lemon.
- Be generous with the onion sauce over the rice, which is the whole point of the dish.
History
Adopted from Casamance and Senegal into Guinean restaurant and party cooking, served over rice.
Frequently asked questions
What is Poulet yassa?
Poulet yassa is a main from Guinea: chicken marinated in lemon, mustard and onion, grilled then simmered in the onions. Adopted from Casamance and Senegal into Guinean restaurant and party cooking, served over rice.
How long does Poulet yassa take to make?
Poulet yassa takes 30 minutes plus marinating of preparation and 1 hour of cooking. The recipe makes serves 6. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Poulet yassa?
Yes, within limits. A hot pan or oven grill stands in for a barbecue; the point is real charring rather than the equipment. The chicken does not need to cook through at this stage, since it finishes in the sauce. A whole unbroken scotch bonnet perfumes the pot without releasing all its heat; lift it out before serving so it cannot burst on someone’s spoon.
What is the most important thing to get right in Poulet yassa?
Check it rather than guessing. Wash hands after handling raw chicken. Wash boards and knives as well. Do not let raw juices touch other food.
