Peppered Chicken and Peppered Chicken Stew

The Recipe for this last quarter of the year was requested by one Mr. David Fine, whom we have never met before. He probably found the other recipes on our Homepage. Here is his email and our response. We think our visitors will definitely find this recipe interesting.

“I used to live in Nigeria and while there was served peppered chicken at Green Springs in Ibadan and peppered chicken stew with rice in Oyo at Baptist Boys High School. Both recipes were extremely hot and good but I have been unable to find either recipe that matches the flavour I remember. I would sure like to get both recipes if you could help me find them.”

Thank you. (Signed: David Fine)

David, here are the recipes you want.

INGREDIENTS
Dressed chicken, Ground Chilli pepper, Green pepper
Onions Fresh Tomatoes/Puree, Chicken Maggi or Oxo
Cooking oil, Salt, Long grain rice.

METHOD
(The preparation of peppered chicken and the stew is one operation. The rice is prepared separately).

Chop the onions into small pieces. A medium size onion is sufficient for one or two persons. Grind the green pepper, onion and tomato in a grinder. Use both fresh and puree tomato. Add ground chilli pepper and salt to the paste and set it aside. Call this “the peppered paste.”

Cut the dressed chicken into pieces after discarding the head and legs. Cook the cut pieces in a sauce pan. Add two cubes of chicken maggi or Oxo and salt to the meat while cooking. This is important, so that the meat is flavoured and tasteful. Let it cook in plenty of water as the water will be used for the stew later. When the meat is done, take it out of the sauce pan and let the water drain back into the sauce pan.

Fry the chicken pieces with some of the peppered paste, using cooking oil. Here we use groundnut oil, but any vegetable oil will do and preferable to lard or fat oil. Turn round the meat as you fry to avoid burning and to brown up the pieces of chicken. Take all the fried meat out and put it in another sauce pan and keep away by the side of the stove or in the oven to keep warm. This fried chicken is the Peppered chicken and can be served alone as such.

The next thing is to make the peppered chicken stew. Put the remainder of the peppered paste in a sauce pan and add the water used in cooking the chicken. Add also the oil used in frying the chicken. Add some more chicken maggi or oxo and boil slowly. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Taste to ensure it is well done and tasteful. Allow to simmer until it thickens. That is the stew.

Next, boil your rice. Add a little salt to the boiling rice. Lower the fire and allow the rice to cook slowly until all the water has dried up. Now you can serve the rice with the peppered stew and peppered chicken. Enjoy.

Foot Notes: Unfortunately, Nigerian and indeed African cooking is an art and we do not make use of measures and weights as you do in Europe and America. Consequently, “getting-it-right” requires some experimentation and trial. All the ingredients mentioned are obtainable world-wide. I stay in studio apartments each time I visit London and make peppered chicken and stew from ingredients purchased in the supermarkets. Let us know if you get something reasonable out of this.