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Ghanaian Chicken Peanut Stew with Sweet Potatoes & Rice
A harmonious blend of flavors and textures, with tender chicken pieces simmered in a thick and creamy peanut sauce that is infused with aromatic spices like ginger, garlic, and chili peppers. The addition of sweet potatoes brings a delightful sweetness and a velvety texture to the stew, while the white rice serves as the perfect base to soak up all the delicious flavor.
Let's see!
9 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
Chicken Peanut Soup
Nkate Nkwan
Makes 6 servings
This is a famous West African soup. Centuries ago, peanuts were
introduced into West Africa from South America via the Portuguese and
supplanted the native bambara groundnuts. At the same time, in much of
Ghana, the prevalence of the tsetse fly made cattle-rearing impossible,
which led to a diet without milk and dairy products. Thus, to make rich,
creamy soups or stews, thickeners like ground legumes, nuts or seeds,
pureed vegetables or okra, or palm butter were used. Ground peanuts were a
wonderful addition.
A delicious introduction to West African cooking, this soup is very
accessible to the North American palate. Commonly made from a basic
chicken stock, it is wonderfully flexible: one can use more or less peanut
butter, or add a variety of vegetables from eggplant to mushrooms. Also, the
recipe is easily adapted to a vegetarian version. Besides the peanut butter,
however, the tomatoes, chili peppers, and onions are necessary ingredients.
They are a holy trinity in much of Ghana’s cooking.
Ingredients
3 to 4 pounds bone-in chicken parts, skin and fat removed
2 cups chopped onion
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced, pressed, or ground
1 heaping teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1½ teaspoons salt (or to taste)
Dried ground red pepper to taste (at least ¼ teaspoon), or fresh hot
chili pepper of choice (see page 37)
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ to 1 cup creamy natural-style peanut butter (no sugar added)
About 8 fresh okra or 5 ounces frozen okra, tails removed, left whole
or chopped
Directions
1. Put chicken pieces into a heavy pot with ½ cup of water. Add 1 cup
of the chopped onion, the garlic, ginger, salt, and ground red pepper. Cover
and steam the chicken over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, making
sure the water does not cook away.
2. Stir in the tomato sauce and paste, the remaining 1 cup of chopped
onion, and 5 more cups of water. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce
the heat to simmer.
3. Ladle about 2 cups of the soup broth into a medium saucepan, and
mix in the peanut butter. Heat the mixture on medium heat, stirring
constantly, until the oil separates and rises to the surface. This may take 15
to 20 minutes. Be sure to stir the mixture constantly or it will scorch. Add a
little more soup broth as necessary. (NOTE: One can simply stir the peanut
butter/broth mixture directly into the soup, but I was taught to cook it
separately. It somehow flavors the peanut sauce more, like browning
would.)
4. When the oil has begun to separate out, ladle some more of the
soup broth into the peanut sauce, stir it, and carefully stir the mixture into
the soup.
5. After a few minutes, add the okra. Allow the soup to simmer for
about 20 to 30 more minutes, until the flavors blend and the chicken is
cooked. Add more water for a thinner soup. Check the seasonings and
adjust salt, red pepper, etc., to taste.
6. Before serving, skim off any oil that rises to the surface. If the soup
is not going to be eaten immediately, remove the chicken pieces to prevent
them from overcooking, and return them to the soup just in time to heat
them through.
To serve:
Use cooked okra or fresh chopped scallions as a garnish and
instead of bread or rolls, serve the soup with mini-rice balls. Serve dried
ground red pepper or red pepper flakes on the side so that people can add
more spiciness if desired. Nkate Nkwan is traditionally served with Ghana
style Dumplings, boiled African yam, or Rice Balls. Boiled potatoes or thick
slices of whole-grain bread are easy Western accompaniments.
Variations:
When serving this to large numbers of people, the cooked chicken may
be deboned and cubed and then added back into the soup.
There are several short-cut options, especially if this soup is served as
a first course/starter: use prepared chicken broth in place of the water and
add all the other ingredients but omit the chicken pieces; and/or add the
peanut butter after mixing it with the hot broth without simmering the
mixture first.
Cook and serve the okra separately so that people can decide whether
or not they wish to add it.
For a change of pace, make the soup using turkey pieces in place of the
chicken.
Instead of the tomato sauce, substitute 1½ cups ground, seeded, fresh
or canned tomatoes (do not use canned tomato puree, however).
For a smoother soup, remove the chicken and strain the broth before
preparing and adding the peanut butter mixture, or puree the second cup of
onion.
Chicken Peanut Stew
To make this a stew, simply add less water (about 3 to 4 cups). The
stew can be served over rice like a curry, with small bowls of condiments.
From "The Ghana Cookbook"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27313468-the-ghana-cookbook
Nkate Nkwan
Makes 6 servings
This is a famous West African soup. Centuries ago, peanuts were
introduced into West Africa from South America via the Portuguese and
supplanted the native bambara groundnuts. At the same time, in much of
Ghana, the prevalence of the tsetse fly made cattle-rearing impossible,
which led to a diet without milk and dairy products. Thus, to make rich,
creamy soups or stews, thickeners like ground legumes, nuts or seeds,
pureed vegetables or okra, or palm butter were used. Ground peanuts were a
wonderful addition.
A delicious introduction to West African cooking, this soup is very
accessible to the North American palate. Commonly made from a basic
chicken stock, it is wonderfully flexible: one can use more or less peanut
butter, or add a variety of vegetables from eggplant to mushrooms. Also, the
recipe is easily adapted to a vegetarian version. Besides the peanut butter,
however, the tomatoes, chili peppers, and onions are necessary ingredients.
They are a holy trinity in much of Ghana’s cooking.
Ingredients
3 to 4 pounds bone-in chicken parts, skin and fat removed
2 cups chopped onion
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced, pressed, or ground
1 heaping teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1½ teaspoons salt (or to taste)
Dried ground red pepper to taste (at least ¼ teaspoon), or fresh hot
chili pepper of choice (see page 37)
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ to 1 cup creamy natural-style peanut butter (no sugar added)
About 8 fresh okra or 5 ounces frozen okra, tails removed, left whole
or chopped
Directions
1. Put chicken pieces into a heavy pot with ½ cup of water. Add 1 cup
of the chopped onion, the garlic, ginger, salt, and ground red pepper. Cover
and steam the chicken over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, making
sure the water does not cook away.
2. Stir in the tomato sauce and paste, the remaining 1 cup of chopped
onion, and 5 more cups of water. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce
the heat to simmer.
3. Ladle about 2 cups of the soup broth into a medium saucepan, and
mix in the peanut butter. Heat the mixture on medium heat, stirring
constantly, until the oil separates and rises to the surface. This may take 15
to 20 minutes. Be sure to stir the mixture constantly or it will scorch. Add a
little more soup broth as necessary. (NOTE: One can simply stir the peanut
butter/broth mixture directly into the soup, but I was taught to cook it
separately. It somehow flavors the peanut sauce more, like browning
would.)
4. When the oil has begun to separate out, ladle some more of the
soup broth into the peanut sauce, stir it, and carefully stir the mixture into
the soup.
5. After a few minutes, add the okra. Allow the soup to simmer for
about 20 to 30 more minutes, until the flavors blend and the chicken is
cooked. Add more water for a thinner soup. Check the seasonings and
adjust salt, red pepper, etc., to taste.
6. Before serving, skim off any oil that rises to the surface. If the soup
is not going to be eaten immediately, remove the chicken pieces to prevent
them from overcooking, and return them to the soup just in time to heat
them through.
To serve:
Use cooked okra or fresh chopped scallions as a garnish and
instead of bread or rolls, serve the soup with mini-rice balls. Serve dried
ground red pepper or red pepper flakes on the side so that people can add
more spiciness if desired. Nkate Nkwan is traditionally served with Ghana
style Dumplings, boiled African yam, or Rice Balls. Boiled potatoes or thick
slices of whole-grain bread are easy Western accompaniments.
Variations:
When serving this to large numbers of people, the cooked chicken may
be deboned and cubed and then added back into the soup.
There are several short-cut options, especially if this soup is served as
a first course/starter: use prepared chicken broth in place of the water and
add all the other ingredients but omit the chicken pieces; and/or add the
peanut butter after mixing it with the hot broth without simmering the
mixture first.
Cook and serve the okra separately so that people can decide whether
or not they wish to add it.
For a change of pace, make the soup using turkey pieces in place of the
chicken.
Instead of the tomato sauce, substitute 1½ cups ground, seeded, fresh
or canned tomatoes (do not use canned tomato puree, however).
For a smoother soup, remove the chicken and strain the broth before
preparing and adding the peanut butter mixture, or puree the second cup of
onion.
Chicken Peanut Stew
To make this a stew, simply add less water (about 3 to 4 cups). The
stew can be served over rice like a curry, with small bowls of condiments.
From "The Ghana Cookbook"
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/27313468-the-ghana-cookbook
