Gabon National Dish - Chicken Nyembwe

The people like to choose something funky for this challenge. I think moving forward I will let you know what each country has as their national dish.

For G, my followers chose Gabon and their national dish is Chicken Nyembwe. Immediately when researching this there were a few foreign ingredients and these were the introduction of palm butter and Oil.

Gabon National Dish

I do not let new ingredients put me off and in fact it gets me excited. Trying to find the ingredients can be difficult but thankfully the local shops, especially om Stroud Green Road are very handy with food from all over the world.

For the research I saw a few recipes and the one that i followed closely was from a blog called 196 flavors and their version of this dish. Their blog asked for smoked chicken which i duly obliged with hickory wood chips. This took an hour and a half and was a pleasure as it made the chicken not only smokey but pull apart tender and juicy. Probably the best cooking of chicken ever.

Chicken Nyembwe with Rice

After cooking the chicken, I pulled it apart and off the bones and left them to the side and set about making the sauce.

For the sauces, I used two pans, one for the palm oil and one for the palm cream (butter). With the oil, i added shallots (or preferably onions) and once slightly browned and translucent added chicken with crushed garlic.
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In the other pan, i added a fair amount of palm cream and left on a medium heat to reduce slightly with a cup of water. The smell of the palm oil and cream was very intense and to be honest a bit off putting. It was a very nutty scent, but a bit greasier and richer too. But, i had to listen to the recipe, so i did as i was told.

Once the two pans were heated enough, I added the chicken, onions and garlic to the palm cream and heated it for a few minutes and then it was done. Served on the side of rice, I was a happy chef. It was not one of my most favourite dishes, but if i go to Gabon I will definitely order it.