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African chicken (非洲雞) is a Macanese dish, and you will not find it in Africa!! This is an African-influenced Portuguese dish that has been developed by Chinese chefs in Macau during the colonial era.
The first time I had this dish was in the former Hyatt Regency Hotel in the Taipa island of Macau. It was listed on the menu by its Portuguese name, Galinha à Africana. I remember sitting in a gorgeous restaurant next to the hotel swimming pool. I had no idea of what I was ordering, but I fell in love with this dish as soon as it arrived!
Ingredients
- A small chicken (about 1.5kg), quartered with the skin on
- 750g potatoes, cut into 3-4cm cubes
- 50g garlic cloves
- 1 small onion (about 50g), roughly chopped
- 1 medium red bell pepper, deseeded, cut into chunks
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 200ml coconut milk
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 120ml white wine
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 12 black olives
For the marinade:
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper or chilli powder
- 2 garlic cloves, pureed
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 2 tps Chinese five spices
- 2 tsp dried rosemary, finely chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 50ml olive oil
Instructions
- Rub the chicken all over with the marinade. Marinate overnight.
- Boil the potatoes for 5 minutes. Drain.
- Add garlic, onion and the red bell pepper into a food processor. Whizz to form a fine paste.
- Prepare the sauce by cooking the paste in oil over medium heat until fragrant. Stir in all the remaining ingredients except the olives. Simmer for 5 minutes, and then add the olives. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.
- Grill the chicken over charcoal or under the oven grill on one side and then the other until the skin is nicely browned all over. It only needs to be half cooked at this stage.
- Arrange the chicken on a roasting tray, and add the potatoes around the chicken. Pour the prepared sauce over, and cook in a preheated oven at 180°C for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let it rest for 10 minutes. Garnish with some chopped parsley.
- Serve with crusty bread or plain rice. And a pitcher of sangria!!
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Tag us on Instagram at @coquendum, or share a photo with the hashtag #coquendum.