Welcome to Central African Republic! Apparently, this country has hosted almost a dozen peacekeeping interventions, which earned itself the title of "world champion of peacekeeping". This is interesting, because the country has a long history of coups, fights, and civil wars. In 2008, it was the country that was least-polluted in all the world. And if you look at pictures of the country, you'd believe it! There is so much water and green everywhere. It looks like a stunning place. It is also a very poor place, and most of the country lives well below the poverty line. According to Google, the population is 5,552,228 people and the capital is Bangui. Their national dish is...
Fufu!
This is the same national dish that Ghana and Togo have as well. We've made it before: it's also called Pap and Ugali. But this time we made it with chicken in peanut-tomato sauce. It was actually a very simple meal, and it cooked quickly! That was a nice change :-) Here's what we did:
1 C cream
- Heat 1 C of water in a medium saucepan until it boils.
- In the meantime, beat 2/3 C of the cornmeal with the cup of cream to a smooth paste.
- Gradually work this mixture into the boiling water, stirring constantly.
- Cook for 5 minutes, gradually adding the remaining cornmeal as you do so.
- When the mixture thickens sufficiently to come away from the sides of the pot, take off the heat.
- Turn the fufu into a lightly-greased bowl and with wet hands shape into a smooth ball.
- Serve immediately.
8 chicken thighs, cut into peices
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 C tomato paste
1 C peanut butter
1 C water
Red pepper flakes, to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
- Heat the peanut oil in a deep pot.
- Add the chicken and fry it until it is browned and nearly done.
- Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Fry the onions and garlic in the same pot for 3 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, and stir to combine.
- Reduce heat and simmer for five minutes.
- Return chicken to pot.
- Stir in peanut butter on low heat.
- Stir in enough water to make tomato paste and peanut butter into a smooth sauce.
- Add spices to taste.
- Stir and simmer on low heat until chicken is done.
- Serve with fufu or rice.
(Source: Chicken with Peanut-Tomato Sauce)
The verdict? It was really good! We've had peanut butter chicken before, and this reminded us of that meal. The fufu was very bland (can you say no salt?!) but it went really well with the chicken and sauce. It was a very easy and quick meal to make, and our Fabulous Friends enjoyed it too!
Join us next time in Vietnam!
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