Chicken Moambe — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

Tender chicken pieces braised in a luscious, thick palm nut cream sauce infused with garlic, tomatoes, and scotch bonnet pepper. A Central African masterpiece of depth and richness.

Ingredients

1.5kg chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks)
400ml palm nut cream (moambe sauce)
3 large tomatoes, blended
2 large onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 scotch bonnet pepper, whole
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 seasoning cubes
1 tsp ground white pepper
Salt to taste
Fresh spinach leaves for garnish

Instructions

1 Season the chicken pieces with salt, white pepper, and minced garlic. Let them marinate for at least thirty minutes to absorb the flavors deeply.
2 Heat groundnut oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces in batches, cooking about four minutes per side until golden. Remove and set aside.
3 In the same pot, saute the diced onions until soft and golden. Add the tomato paste and cook for two minutes, stirring constantly until it darkens slightly.
4 Pour in the blended tomatoes and cook for ten minutes until the sauce reduces and the raw tomato flavor cooks out completely.
5 Add the palm nut cream to the pot, stirring to combine with the tomato base. Add the seasoning cubes and the whole scotch bonnet pepper. Bring to a gentle simmer.
6 Return the browned chicken pieces to the pot, nestling them into the moambe sauce. Cover and simmer on low heat for forty-five minutes until the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce has thickened.
7 Remove the scotch bonnet pepper, adjust seasoning, and serve over steamed rice or with boiled plantains. Garnish with fresh spinach leaves.

Did You Know?

Moambe sauce, made from the fruit of the oil palm tree, is so central to Central African cooking that it has been called the butter of Africa.