Ingredients
- 4 pounds chicken pieces (remove skin to reduce fat content if you like)
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- For Spice Rub
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp chopped garlic
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 3/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper (or to taste)
- For Peanut Sauce
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 small red bell pepper seeded and finely diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
- 1 carrot finely diced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tsp finely diced and seeded jalapeno pepper
- 4 cups chicken broth or stock
- 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 tomato, seeded and diced
- 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
- 1/2 cup stirred coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley for garnish
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African Chicken in Peanut Sauce
Time: 20 minutes prep, 50 minutes cook
Servings: 6
Directions
- Stir together the Spice Rub ingredients and rub onto chicken
- Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high. Add chicken in batches and brown on all sides. Transfer browned pieces to a platter or bowl.
- Add 1 Tbsp oil, onion, bell peppers, carrot, garlic, and jalapeno to the pan. Cook about 5 min, until vegetables are soft. Add chicken broth and simmer about 20 minutes uncovered. Reduce heat to medium-low, stir in remaining sauce ingredients, and simmer 2 minutes. Return browned chicken to the skillet and cook 25-30 minutes until chicken is tender. Stir occasionally to keep sauce from sticking. Turn chicken pieces mid-way through to ensure even cooking.
- Garnish with parsley and serve over rice (we use brown rice). A green vegetable or salad makes a nice side.
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Summary
I first had this in graduate school when a classmate from Ghana cooked it for an International progressive dinner. I fell in love with the combination of sweet peanuts and pungent spices. This is not a flavor you will easily forget, and it will keep you coming back for more!
Menus and Pairings
Reviews
November 10, 2009
This was a beautiful and delicious dish. There were layers upon layers of flavors. The next day we had about half the sauce left, but no more chicken. We all liked the flavor so much that we picked up a rotisserie chicken and broke it up into the remaining sauce and it was still delicious!I've cooked/tasted this recipe!This is a variation3 people like this review
December 22, 2009
"Yummers"......I tried this recipe tonight and it was outstanding. I made more rice to accommodate the left over sauce.....we will enjoy this dish tomorrow! Thanx John!I've cooked/tasted this recipe!1 person likes this review
February 22, 2010
My family loves this recipe. It has the most wonderful, complex flavors.I've cooked/tasted this recipe!
March 6, 2010
I did make this the other night and served it with brown rice and a broccoli, carrot and cauliflower mixture, it was delicious! I didn't have any fresh tomato, so I left that out. I thought it tasted great, as did my husband! Thanks John...I've cooked/tasted this recipe!This is a variation
March 23, 2010
This looks delightful. Great balance of flavors, and not all that complicated. Thanks!
March 24, 2010
A very tasty recipe .I love the spices used in peanut sauce.Great!I've cooked/tasted this recipe!
March 24, 2010
This recipe is a wonderful combination of flavors. The spices are good but not overpowering. Excellent all the way around.I've cooked/tasted this recipe!
December 10, 2010
I made this a couple nights ago. My husband and I neither one, care for the taste of Green Bell Peppers. so, we replaced both the half Green Bell and the Jalapeno with one seeded Pablano pepper. We had two other couples over, one of which really does not care for spicy food and everyone ate all almost all of it. It had the most amazing slow mellow heat to it. We served it with a rice my husband makes, he calls it Nicaraguan Rice, but who knows. I took the left overs and cut up the chicken trew it back in the sauce and added rice until it was a nice mixture for the leftovers and it reheated great the next day when I shared it with a friend for lunch. This will be a new favorite for our family, thank you so much!1 replyI've cooked/tasted this recipe!1 person likes this review
June 27, 2011
Hi John
I made this dish over the weekend. It is really good! The only change I made was to use fresh coriander instead of thyme. I also served it with Basmati rice.I've cooked/tasted this recipe!This is a variation2 people like this review
July 4, 2011
The African chicken in peanut sauce.
tasted rilly good I would rate this recipe a ten it was that goodI've cooked/tasted this recipe!
November 6, 2011
Rich, spicy and peanutty. Similar to Thai dishes.I've cooked/tasted this recipe!-
February 3, 2012
What an Amazing dish!! Thank You for sharing! I will make this many times, Thumbs up.!!
Tweaked the recipe a little. It goes a lil something like this:
Calculated the recipe to 8 servings. Used skinless, boneless chicken tenders 48 oz (3 lb) bag. The recipe called for 5 lbs. of chicken. According to my calculations I figured 4 pieces of chicken tenders equaled one pound of chicken beast. So I used 20 tenders. The chicken was partially frozen. Cut tenders into bite sized pieces approx. 1/2" to 1". I placed the chicken in a gallon zip lock bag. I mixed and doubled the rub in a separate container. I did not use fresh garlic but rather garlic powder. I figured that since the other spices were powder in the rub that I would keep everything dry. I placed the rub into bag with chicken. Tossed and mixed chicken pieces until coated well. I marinated chicken about an hour. I used EVOO to cook the chicken.
After cooking the chicken I realized the chicken was too spicy for a child or for someone who can't handle to much spice. (Should not have doubled rub.) Since both parties were eating my dinner I had to think fast. Hoping that the liquid in the recipe would dilute the spice but the more I tasted the chicken, the more I tasted the heat. I realized it was way over spiced so I rinsed the chicken in running water for a bit. I tried to to make it user friendly. I succeed with just enough spice.
The rest of the recipe was golden. The only other changes I made were: I used 4 cups chicken broth, 1 can coconut milk 13.5 fl oz, one small can tomato paste 6 oz, used 1 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter, 4 carrots sliced 1/8" to 3/16", 2 large tomato's seeded and diced, fresh thyme. NO jalapeno, NO parsley to garnish. Cooking times were followed as listed. Plenty of chicken, didn't need to thicken. There was plenty left over. It was perfect!! Served with brown rice.
In the future would entertain serving with pasta and or using beef to mix it up. Served with sauted portobello mushrooms with balsamic vinegar, a green salad with pinon seeds and sour dough bread.1 replyI've cooked/tasted this recipe!This is a variation 
June 9, 2012
Absolutely delicious! I just used boneless skinless thighs (my fav), but otherwise followed the recipe. I wanted to make it again the next night. Definitely a keeper.1 replyI've cooked/tasted this recipe!This is a variation
Comments
- September 8, 2013I made this last night, however I had to substitute powder spices for fresh, everyone said it was good. I believe true test is when they go back for seconds or want to go container or at least the recipe no one did :( will try again with fresh and report back
- August 29, 2012This sounds really good. I'm adding it to make at a later time. It has been years since I cooked with peanut butter and I really look forward to trying this. Thanks John!
February 19, 2012This recipe sounds awesome and I love the spicy element. I have never been a huge fan of peanuts in recipes, but this one changed my mind.1 reply
February 18, 2012looking forward to trying this soon. I'm always excited to try something new! And the best part is that I can find all the ingredients here! (you have no idea how hard it is to cook here in Saudi!) LOL- February 15, 2012http://www.gourmandia.com - Gourmandia is a culinary website offering videos of world-class Michelin rated chefs exhibiting their techniques. Also features documentaries on fine dining restaurant locations and cities, recipes, forum, and more.
- June 27, 2011Hi John1 reply
I made this receipe over the weekend. It is really good! Only change I made was to use fresh coriander instead of thyme. Also served it with Basmati rice. 
April 7, 2011Fantastic recipe. Everyone loved it! I mixed about 1/4 cup chicken broth and about 2-3 tsps. of cornstarch together to thicken the sauce,in the last 5 minutes of cooking. It was wayyyy too thin otherwise.Also topped the dish with additional peanuts. It was great. A keeper!1 reply- April 6, 2011Making this for dinner tonight, sounds interesting. Going to take advice of Phil and use crunchy peanut butter instead of the smooth.Also, I'll be using boneless,skinless chicken breast and cut into bite-size chunks.Hope its a winner with the family!!
September 13, 2010This is quite delicious. I've served it now to family and to guests and it's always a pleaser. A couple lessons so far: (1) Chunky peanut butter not only works, but actually adds to the dish. (2) The sauce separates upon re-heating, so this doesn't make an ideal leftover, even though it seems like it should.1 reply
August 1, 2010Sounds wonderful, John. Different than what I usually cook. What is a pepper with the least amount of "heat"? N
May 1, 2010Anything with peanut sauce will get my attention.
I will most certainly have to try making this dish minus a pinch of the spunky cayenne pepper;0)
Very nice recipe. Thank you,
Claudia
March 28, 2010This looks excellent. This will be on my to-do list for after the holidays.
I was introduced to a very basic version of this recipe some time ago and I'm thrilled to have found something a bit more complex (in both method and flavours). I was skeptical when I was told "now mix in the peanut butter," but I was when I tasted it. I also added some cashews for extra flavour as well.
