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Nigerian Chicken Stew

Nigerian chicken stew with a deeply cooked, dark tomato-pepper sauce and golden fried bone-in chicken pieces. Blended peppers simmer until oil floats on top, then the chicken is simmered until rich and cohesive for spoonable sauce over rice.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
marinating 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Course: Main Dish
Cuisine: Nigerian
Calories: 680
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

chicken pieces, bone-in
  • 3 lb chicken pieces, bone-in
plum tomatoes
  • 2 can (14 oz) plum tomatoes
red bell peppers
  • 3 red bell peppers roughly chopped
scotch bonnet or habanero peppers
  • 2 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers adjust to heat preference
onion
  • 1 onion large, divided
garlic
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
vegetable oil
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
thyme
  • 1 tsp thyme
curry powder
  • 1 tsp curry powder
bouillon cubes or chicken stock powder
  • 2 bouillon cubes or use 1 tsp chicken stock powder
salt and pepper
  • 0.5 tsp salt to taste
  • 0.25 tsp pepper to taste
fresh parsley
  • 0.25 cup fresh parsley chopped (for serving)
steamed rice
  • 6 cup steamed rice for serving

Equipment

  • 1 large pot

Method
 

Marinate the chicken
  1. Season the chicken with half the onion (grated), thyme, curry powder, bouillon, salt, and pepper, then marinate for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
Brown the chicken
  1. Fry or oven-bake the marinated chicken until golden and mostly cooked through, then set aside.
Blend the pepper base
  1. Blend the plum tomatoes, red bell peppers, scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, and the remaining onion until smooth.
Cook the sauce until dark and glossy
  1. Heat 1/2 cup vegetable oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and carefully fry the blended pepper sauce for 30-40 minutes, stirring frequently until oil floats on top and the sauce turns dark and deeply cooked.
Combine and finish
  1. Add the fried chicken to the pot, coat it in the sauce, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and the sauce clings to it.
  2. Taste and adjust with more salt and pepper if needed, then serve hot over steamed rice and top with fresh parsley.

Notes

Pro tip: keep stirring during the long sauce-frying stage so the pepper base cooks evenly and develops the darker color where the oil floats. Refrigerate leftovers in a sealed container for up to 3-4 days; freeze for up to 3 months. For a lighter version, use skinless chicken pieces and reduce the vegetable oil slightly while still cooking until the oil surfaces.