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Active Time
45 min
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Total Time
1 3/4 hr
This dish, typical of West Africa, is traditionally accompanied byfoo-foo(a porridgelike side dish made from corn, sweet potato, plantain, or cassava meal). We strongly recommend serving the stew with rice to sop up the delicious sauce.
Ingredients
Makes 6 servings
Step 1
安排鸡1层托盘,然后sprinkle with salt and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.
Step 2
While chicken stands, pulse tomatoes with their juice in a food processor until finely chopped.
Step 3
Stir water into tomato paste in a small bowl until smooth.
Step 4
Pat chicken dry. Heat oil in a 10- to 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken, without crowding, in 3 or 4 batches, turning over occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer with tongs as browned to a 6- to 7-quart heavy pot. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from skillet, then add onion and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until edges are golden, 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 5
Add onion, chopped tomatoes, tomato paste mixture, garlic paste, and cayenne to chicken in pot.
Step 6
Whisk together peanut butter and 1 cup broth in a bowl until smooth, then add to chicken along with remaining 3/4 cup broth, stirring to combine well (chicken will not be completely covered with liquid). Bring to a boil, uncovered, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally (to prevent sticking), until chicken is very tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
Step 7
Peel sweet potato and cut into 1-inch chunks. Stir into stew along with okra, then simmer, covered, until potato is tender but not falling apart, 10 to 12 minutes.
Chicken stew, without sweet potato and okra, can be made 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, then chilled, covered. Reheat stew before proceeding with recipe.
Leave a Review
Reviews (50)
Back to TopThis is one of my favorite recipes. Over the years I've refined it to meet my needs. Use 1 package of boneless chicken thighs and 1 package of boneless/skinless chicken breasts. Use canned,organic diced and/or crushed tomatoes. Use 2 packages of cut, frozen okra. Using boneless chicken changes the cooking time- add in sweet potatoes first, cook them for 10 minutes or until half/mostly done. Maybe its the size that I cut them, but I found that sweet potatoes take about 20 minutes to cook, not 10. Add them after the chicken and you get overdone chicken. After the sweet potatoes are mostly done, add okra and chicken. The dish is done when chicken is done. If the stew gets too thick add more broth and a little water. MAKE SURE TO STIR FREQUENTLY TO PREVENT STICKING. There's nothing sadder than burned stew. Also, it's easy to make this veg- sub vegetable broth and extra firm tofu. Nom nom nom- enjoy!
hungryincville
Charlottesville, VA
11/12/2018
My wife and I have done a recipe similar to this a few times this and we love it. Okay - for those expecting a dish packed with culinary excitement exploding with a myriad of flavor... fuggetaboutit! All said this made with expert care will produce a quite tasty meal with the intent to replicate the simplicity of African cuisine outside the influences of the spice trade. Tomatoes, peanuts, sweet potatoes, okra all are from the subcontinent and should be enjoyed with respect. Get the stew going sans sweet potatoes, add them, watch until just tender, add okra and BOOM! You are done. Just sever over cooked rice.
Richdaman
Somewhere in Texas
8/30/2014
i made this with ingredients listed, with the exception of using fresh okra. i cooked it in my pressure cooker--browned the chicken, added onions and garlic, then dumped the rest of the ingredients except okra into the pot and stirred to mix. 15 minutes on high, release the steam, add added the okra and cooked for 10 minutes until the okra was cooked but not gummy. pretty good! not terribly complex, but, hey, we were eating 35 minutes from the time i turned on the cooker...
michaeladenner
finicky, florida
9/15/2013
Very yummy! I used boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into about 2" pieces. Served with coconut basmati rice. Used petite diced tomatoes and skipped the food processor part. Had a nice spiciness from the cayenne and a creamy flavor from the peanut butter!
egardenut
Northern Virginia
2/2/2013
Seriously unimpressed. To be honest, I did some minor substitutions - ketchup for tomato paste, fresh hot chili peppers for cayenne - but I don't think it was the problem. It was bland - the flavors just didn't meld.
Anonymous
7/31/2012
Super delicious. I didn't change a thing about this recipe. The stew is rich, complex, and incredibly filling.
arianell
Richmond, VA
7/13/2011
This has been an old favorite for my family for a long time. I follow the recipe as is, except that I add cauliflower to the stew for one more added texture.
enords
PA
1/26/2011
Surprisingly good. I was a little taken back by the peanut butter, but it turned out really tasty. If I were to make this again, I would use a little less peanut butter and more stock or tomato sauce. It came out a lot thicker than I expected. The okra got soggy after a while and if I made it again, I'd fry up the okra to top off the stew with. We had tons leftover and froze it, which kept very well.
thecraftnook
San Francisco, CA
1/17/2011
This turned out great - even our 12 and 11 yr old liked it, with the 12YO actually eating the okra. I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs and fresh okra from our CSA. One thing I learned is to not use the big okras - they're not edible since they're so fiberous.
bjulia
silver spring, md
8/24/2010
Has anyone tried to freeze this?
aprilbaer
Portland OR
1/29/2010
LOVE the peanut butter in broth thing. used swiss chard instead of okra. will def make this again.
Anonymous
Toronto
12/7/2009
delicious! will definitely make again.
Anonymous
8/13/2009
Very good. Will add more spices next time. Reminds of my childhood when my grandmother would make this stew for me :) I also expected the stew to be a bit thicker, but it tasted great! Will definitely make again
Anonymous
Boston, MA
8/10/2009
Fantastic recipe--easily adaptable for vegans/vegetarians (which I am); I used Quorn "chicken", and it was amazing. Would be great with fried tofu or chicken-style seitan too.
frontiersperson
Baltimore, MD
6/13/2009
I thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. Nice and tasty, with a good amount of heat. I made a few changes: I added a little coriander when sauteeing the onions and squeezed some lime juice in. Next time I'll probably add more okra, too. This will definitely be a recipe I'll make again.
Anonymous
brooklyn
12/28/2008
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