Take a trip to Mozambique with this perfectly juicy and tender chicken that’s made with the best marinade ever – lemons, garlic, serrano peppers, and coconut milk. Serve over a fragrant coconut rice. It’s so bomb!
I have to admit, I haven’t had Mozambican food before and frankly, I didn’t know much about it. Luckily, an intern from my work is from Mozambique and she was gracious enough to tell my team all about her beautiful home country. That was when I learned about this amazing spicy chicken dish from the Zambezia province of Mozambique. Matter of fact, she challenged my entire team to make this dish at home, so I hope that I’ve done her and the dish proud.
Since I haven’t had this chicken before, I can’t say for sure that I’ve nailed all the flavors or that this tastes authentic. But I can say that this is one damn good chicken dish! I love the intense acidity from all the lemon juice used, and the flavors from the chicken and the sauce pair perfectly with the creamy coconut rice.
I took inspiration from this recipe and made a few tweaks along the way. If you know Mozambican food, be sure to let me know how I did in the comments below.
Mozambican Spicy Chicken (Galinha à Zambeziana) with Coconut Rice
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skin-on chicken thighs
- 4 cups rice
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 7 lemons, juiced and zested (I zested 3 lemons)
- 2 red serrano peppers, diced (I included the seeds for the extra spice, but feel free to omit them if you prefer less spicy)
- 2 cans (13.5 fl oz each) coconut milk (1 can for the marinade and 1 for the rice)
- 1 bunch parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Step 1. Prepare the chicken marinade by combining the garlic, peppers, coconut milk, lemon juice and zest, salt, and pepper in a gallon bag. Add in the chicken thighs, close the bag, mix everything around, and pop it in the fridge and marinate for about 2 hours.
- Step 2. Cook the rice in a rice cooker with coconut milk and water as the liquid, then set aside.
- Step 3. Add olive oil to a Dutch oven. Sear the chicken skin-side down to let it crisp up and get a nice golden-brown color. Flip to sear the other side. Be sure to baste the chicken on both sides to help it stay moist throughout the cooking process. To know when the chicken is done, cut into it and see if the juices run clear. If they do, then it is fully cooked. Take the chicken out and set aside.
- Step 4. Sauce: Using the same pot or in another pot, add in the marinade and reduce by about ⅔ of the starting volume (15-20 minutes).
- Step 5. For plating, start by putting down a bed of the coconut rice then top with the chicken. Drizzle on the sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
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