FCG: African Chicken in Peanut Sauce 03/02/05

Greetings gang! Hope everyone had a good February and is on their way to an even better March. St. Patrick's Day is coming up. I guess I should probably send you all a recipe for corned beef and cabbage or something with potatoes, but this time we're going with something a bit different. This recipe comes from an Oprah magazine (Jan '01). Every year or so I buy one of her magazines and read through it, but truly I get so annoyed with all the advertisements that I can't read the publication with any regularity. Still, when I sift through all the junk to buy this and look at that and be like Oprah by doing something her editors think everyone should do (and hey, wouldn't we all love to sip tea from Limoges and strut around in our Jimmy Choos while deciding which Versace to where to what) to be a better person, the magazine does have a few articles worth reading and even some recipes worth trying. I must say, however, that the name of this one annoys me. The adjective seems to be in the wrong place. It's not like we have a problem growing chickens in this country and have to import them from anywhere, and the recipe itself doesn't call specifically for an African chicken (as opposed to say a Mongolian one or a Bolivian one), but maybe I'm just being too persnickety. Regardless or my irritation at the name, the recipe was really quite good. If you like peppers and onions, you might find it good as well. I sure hope so. As always, enjoy! - Devon

African Chicken in Peanut Sauce (aka Chicken with African Peanut Sauce)

4 lbs bone-in chicken pieces, skin removed (You can use boneless if you want. Bone-in is cheaper, but you just have to remove the bones eventually.)
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp chopped garlic
3/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
3 TBSP vegetable oil (I used a shot or two of olive without measuring: you're just lubing a pan)
1 small onion, finely diced
1/2 red pepper, seeded and diced (I used the whole thing)
1/2 green pepper, seeded and diced (again, I used the whole thing)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp finely diced and seeded jalapeno chile (I used a whole chile: I didn't even know it was measured until just now when I typed it out for you. Guess I should learn to read more carefully!)
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter (might I recommend the kind without sugar added)
1/2 tomato, seeded and diced (I used the whole thing)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1/2 tsp dried) (I went with dried)
1/2 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup well-mixed (shake the can pretty vigorously before opening) coconut milk*
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Stir together the salt, pepper, garlic, and cayenne pepper and rub it on the chicken pieces. Heat 1 TBSP of the oil and sear the spiced chicken in it, browning on all sides (but don't burn your spices). Transfer the pieces to a platter and set them aside. (Don't worry: we'll finish cooking them later.) Blot out the pan and put the rest of the oil in. Sautee the onion, peppers, and garlic until the vegs are soft (about 5 minutes). Add the chicken broth and simmer until reduced by half (about 20 minutes). (And may I just say that this is a really pretty dish with the two peppers and onions. Very colorful.) Reduce the heat to low and stir in the rest of the ingredients except the chicken and simmer for it about 2 more minutes. Now put the chicken back in the pan and cook 24-30 minutes or until the chicken is tender and cooked-through. Be sure to stir this frequently because the peanut butter will stick to the bottom of the pan. Turn the chicken pieces over about halfway through the cook time to make sure that they get cooked all the way through. Serve over rice. I boned the (cooked) chicken and then shredded it into the sauce, and it has made for pretty nice leftovers this week.

This is a recipe I would use again. If you were to look it up in the Oprah magazine (page 161 if you really want to), you would find that I altered the recipe in giving it to you. I didn't add a carrot because the store I was in didn't sell them bulk and I only wanted ONE carrot, not three pounds worth, nor did I add tomato paste to the mix because I loathe tomato paste. (Seriously: I think it exists merely to increase the sodium content and to add a slightly tinny taste to everything to which it is added.) If you want to be a purist about it, throw in a finely diced carrot with the other vegetables and 1 TBSP of tomato paste into the sauce. ("1 TBSP" is another reason not to use tomato paste in my opinion. Granted it's a small can, but what do you do with the REST of it besides leave it in the refrigerator for a couple of months as some kind of germ warfare experiment? I guess you could make spaghetti sauce for the next night--when you have your pina coladas. Plech!) You are also supposed to garnish it with 1/2 cup of chopped fresh parsley. That would be pretty I am sure.

*This is about 1/3 of a can, so I would suggest either figuring out if this freezes--more importantly thaws-- well, making pina coladas, or whipping up a pot full of Kai Tom Kah (though probably not on the same night: Thai food plus African food sounds like indigestion waiting to happen) to use up the remainder of the milk.