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Macanese African chicken

Chinese Cooking Demystified · ♥ 3.6K likes · 124.6K views · 6 min video

Read about whole bird in the BrightCulinary Book

Macanese African chicken, from the video
Timestamp
Ingredients
Method
Techniques
▶ 0:36
  • 1½ kg chicken
  • 2 whole chilies
Chop the neck and feet off a 1.5 kilo chicken, cut out the backbone, flip it and press down hard to break the cartilage at the breastbone so it lies flat.
Spatchcocking the chickenButterflyingRead
▶ 1:07
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 whole shallots
  • lime zest
  • 2 tsp salt
Pound two sliced chilies, four smashed garlic cloves, two roughly chopped shallots, a little lime zest and two teaspoons of salt in a mortar for a couple of minutes to a paste.
Pounding the marinade paste
▶ 1:22
Squeeze in the juice of half a lime and transfer to a bowl.
▶ 1:22
  • ½ whole lime
  • 1 whole nutmeg
  • 4 whole dried bay leaves
  • 1 tsp black peppercorn
Grind one nutmeg, four dried bay leaves, a teaspoon of black peppercorn, a teaspoon of fennel seed and a teaspoon of coriander seeds to a powder for about a minute.
▶ 1:36
  • 1 tsp fennel seed
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
Mix the ground spices into the paste with two teaspoons paprika, a tablespoon of turmeric powder and two tablespoons of olive oil.
Ground spices and marinating overnightMarinatingRead
▶ 1:54
Massage the marinade into the chicken, bag it and refrigerate overnight.
▶ 1:54
  • 6 tbsp white wine
A couple of hours before cooking, mix in six tablespoons of white wine and leave at room temperature.
▶ 2:11
  • 100 g peanuts
  • 100 g cashews
Reserve the marinade. Toast 100 grams of peanuts and 100 grams of cashews in a skillet over low heat for about five minutes, moving constantly.
Toasting and blending the nutsToasting
▶ 2:25
Pulse the nuts in a blender for two minutes.
▶ 2:39
  • 1 whole onion
  • 2 whole heaven facing chilies
  • 1 whole large shallot
  • 2 cloves garlic
In the same blender pulse one onion in chunks, two heaven facing chilies in sections, one large shallot halved and two smashed garlic cloves for two minutes to a paste.
Blending aromatics and tomatoesBlending
▶ 2:56
Blend two tomatoes in chunks on high for one minute and pour into a bowl.
▶ 2:56
  • 2 whole tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp olive or peanut oil
In a large skillet over medium high heat add two tablespoons of olive or peanut oil and lay the chicken skin side down.
▶ 3:10
After about a minute lower to medium and let the chicken fat render. Fry five minutes on one side, flip and fry five minutes on the other.
Pan-frying to render the fatFryingRead
▶ 3:26
Transfer to a baking tray and roast at 200C for fifteen minutes, then flip and roast ten more, until the thickest part of the thigh reads 77C.
▶ 3:57
  • 1 tbsp paprika
Fry the blended onion paste in the rendered chicken oil over medium heat about three minutes until the colour deepens, then add one tablespoon paprika and fry about a minute.
Building the coconut nut sauceReducingRead
▶ 4:15
Add the pulsed nuts, the leftover marinade, the blended tomatoes, one cup of water, three tablespoons of tomato paste and one cup of coconut milk.
▶ 4:15
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 4 tbsp shredded coconut
Reduce over medium low heat for about half an hour, whisking constantly.
▶ 4:32
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • nutmeg
Mix in four tablespoons of shredded coconut, then season with one tablespoon sugar, two teaspoons salt, an optional tablespoon of fish sauce and a tiny grating of nutmeg; cook together about a minute.
Seasoning the sauceSeasoningRead
▶ 5:04
  • pickled gherkin
  • french fries or roast potatoes
Chop the chicken in half, smother with the sauce and top with a sliced pickled gherkin. Serve with french fries or roast potatoes.
Cutting and servingCarving