Saturday, May 10, 2014

Yassa Chicken from Senegal

I was first introduced to yassa chicken by West Africans when I lived in Botswana and immediately fell in love.  Years later I worked with Evy Yaguibou, a teacher from Burkino Faso, who made the most delicious yassa chicken.  There was no way I could put together a cookbook with recipes from around the world without including yassa chicken.  So here it is!
1/2 cup lemon juice
4 onions finely sliced
1 chili finely chopped
4 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 teaspoons mustard
1/4 cup vinegar
5 tablespoons cooking oil
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 chicken cut into portions
oil for saute
2 carrots diced
1 small cabbage cut into chunks
1 stock cube
1/2 cup water
Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, except the chicken portions, water, vegetables and oil for saute, so that you make a marinade.  Carefully lay the chicken portions in the marinade making sure that they are well-covered.  Allow the chicken to marinate in the fridge for a few hours, overnight is best.  Remove the chicken from the marinade and saute it in a large pot.  When the chicken has started to brown, add in the onions from the marinade and saute them as well.  When the onions are soft, add in the rest of the marinade, the water, stock cube and the vegetables.  Bring to a boil so that the marinade turns into a sauce.  Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  Serve with rice.
Cindy Vine, a South African, currently lives and works in Ukraine.  She is the author of Hush Baby, Defective, C U @ 8, Not Telling and The Case of Billy B.  All her books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle format.

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