How to Cook Nigerian Stew with Chicken | Best Recipe
How to Cook Nigerian Stew is a delicious way of learning how to make something sumptuous to eat as a side dish with any starchy foods of your choice.
Nigerian foods are full of flavors, so the Nigerian stew is not left behind as it is mostly enjoyed with white rice.
Growing up, rice and stew were the major Sunday food, after church service when you greet a neighbor, the response will end with hope you have made your Sunday rice because am coming home.
This is because Nigerian stew holds a cultural significance in Nigerian cuisine and is often served on some special occasions with white rice or any other side dish.
How to Cook Nigerian Stew
There are many regional variations of Nigerian stew; each of them has its unique twist and taste. For example in the eastern part of Nigeria palm oil is sometimes used in addition to vegetable oil, this is to give the stew a richer flavor and reddish-orange color.
Meanwhile, in the northern part of the country, groundnut(peanut) stew is popular and groundnut paste is used in making the stew for the nuttier taste.
Generally, to make Nigerian stew the tomatoes, onions, and peppers are usually blended to give a smooth puree, and then fried in a vegetable oil.
Nigerian stew is versatile and can be made to suit different tastes and dietary preferences. Vegetarians may choose to omit the use of meat and add extra vegetables or tofu instead.
You can also choose to make it spicy or mild depending on personal preference by adjusting the amount of the scotched bonnet peppers you are using.
This stew typically boasts a vibrant red color, because of the ripe tomatoes and red bell peppers that are being used. These also give Nigerian Jollof rice vibrant colors as it is part of the ingredients used for Jollof rice.
What are the Ingredients Used for Nigerian Stew
Here are the ingredients I will be using to make this delicious Nigerian stew:
1. Chicken (You can use any meat of your choice)
2. Ground Fresh Tomatoes
3. Tomatoes Paste
4. Ground Fresh Red Pepper
5. Sliced Onions
6. Ground Ginger and Garlic
7. Nutmeg and Curry powder
8. Thyme and Onga seasoning
9. Stock Cubes and Salt
10. Chicken Stock
11. Vegetable oil
I love using tomato paste alongside fresh tomatoes for my stew; you can use any one of them or use both as well,
Steps on How to Cook Nigerian Stew with Chicken
How to cook Nigerian stew is very easy when you use this recipe, you won’t be spending so much time in the kitchen trying to cook stew. Let’s get it done!
Don’t forget to clean your utensils and equipment as well as your cooking area because is we are what we eat, so being hygienic when cooking is necessary.
Step 1
Wash the chicken into a clean pot and season it with seasoning cubes, salt, pepper, onions, curry, thyme, ginger, and garlic.
With a spatula (you can use your hands with gloves) mix the spices into the chicken and cook with no water. (The chicken will bring out its water after cooking for some time).
Check on the chicken and add a little stock cover to cook when it is done separate the chicken from the water and set aside.
Step 2
Before now I already blended my fresh tomatoes, peppers, ginger, and garlic and set aside (don’t forget to wash them before blending).
Step 3
Heat your cooking pot or pan with vegetable oil on medium heat, when the oil is a bit hot, add some sliced onions and put your chicken for frying (I don’t fry mine too dry because I will still add them to the stew). After frying all the chicken set it aside.
Step 4
For me am still using the oil I used for the frying to make my stew (if you want to change it you are very free). Add more onions to the oil; let it fry for a few minutes, then put the tomato paste and stir fry for 5-6 minutes.
A lot of people make sour taste stew because they don’t fry the tomatoes for a long time and they don’t use enough oil. Make use of enough oil and stir fry your tomatoes for about 5-10 minutes to prevent the sour taste.
Step 5
After 10 minutes add the blended tomatoes puree and stir fry occasionally for another 10 minutes to fry out the sour tastes. Continue stirring occasionally to prevent it from burning from the bottom of the pot.
Fry until the tomatoes boil in the oil alone, now you can add the fried chicken and the chicken stock into the pot and stir. Add curry, thyme, nutmeg, and onga seasoning and stir, taste to adjust seasoning if there is a need for that.
Cover to simmer for 3 minutes. By now your white rice or any other food you are eating with this stew must have been ready.
After 3 minutes, off the heat and enjoy your Nigerian stew.
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