Easy homemade Macau African Chicken Recipe! This is an easy version of African Chicken, a famous Macau restaurant chicken dish, that you can make easily at home. It is also Known as Galinha à Africana (Portuguese).
About Macau African Chicken
Juicy fried chicken with crispy skin is cooked or baked in a bit of spicy rich flavorful sauce! “African Chicken” is one of the most famous dishes of Macau, a small island near Hong Kong. In spite of the name African Chicken, it is not a dish from Africa but a recipe created by a chef in Macau. However, there are also other stories on how it originated.
It is a true fusion dish!
This chicken dish is a unique blend of Chinese, Portuguese, Asian, and African cuisines. It consists of ingredients/seasonings from Europe, South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, and local China.
USEFUL TIPS
- You can use chicken bouillon cubes/powder to make the chicken stock. Packets of chicken bouillon cube/powder will specify the proportions to use.
- If you like, use ready-made tomato puree or paste instead of fresh tomato puree. In that case, probably you will need to add some water to adjust the consistency of the sauce.
- I used bone-in chicken thighs, you can also use other parts of chicken such as drumsticks, or chicken breast.
- The chicken can be marinated ahead and kept in the refrigerator.
- You can make the sauce in advance and keep it in the refrigerator.
- Use Chinese five-spice powder* instead of ground cinnamon and clove, if you can find it. In this recipe, I used ground cinnamon and clove as they are widely available. *Chinese 5 spice is comprised of 5 different spices, which include: Star anise, Clove, Cinnamon, Szechuan pepper, Fennel seed
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Homemade Macau African Chicken
Step-by-Step Recipe
Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 1 hr 20 mins
Ingredients
For Marinating Chicken
2 bone-in chicken thigh
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ginger paste
1/2 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, optional
1 tablespoon olive oil plus for frying
For the Sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1/2 tablespoon ginger paste
1 onion chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon sweet paprika optional
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 tablespoon peanut butter
100 ml chicken stock
100 ml tomato paste
100 ml coconut milk
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
20 g butter cut into cubes
Instructions
Marinate the Chicken
Place the chicken on a plate.
Gather the ingredients for the marinade; black pepper, salt, ground cinnamon, ground clove, chili powder, ginger & garlic paste, onion, dried rosemary, olive oil for frying
Rub the ingredients all over the chicken. Cover and chill for 2 hours or overnight.
Make the sauce
Gather the ingredients for making the sauce.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger/garlic paste & stir until fragrant. Add onion and stir-fry briefly.
Add the bay leaf, chili powder, paprika, pepper & salt, and peanut butter; stir-fry for another few minutes until all the ingredients are well coated and the onion softened.
Add chicken broth, coconut milk, vinegar, and sugar; stir well. Simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes over low heat, stirring often.
Add the butter and remove from heat. Set aside.
Fry the Chicken
In a large skillet, heat about 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Fry the chicken on high heat skin side down to brown.
Flip the chicken over so the skin is now on top. Brown the chicken on all sides.
Finish the dish
Heat the oven. Set it at 375F. Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken.
Bake for about 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven. Let the chicken cool, uncovered in the pan, for 15 minutes. Serve with bread or plain rice.
NOTE: if you don’t have an oven-Warm the sauce over medium-high heat. Add the pan-fried chicken to the sauce and simmer for about 10 minutes. Halfway through cooking, turn the chicken over and mix both sides with the sauce. Remove from heat.
Homemade Macau African Chicken
Printable Recipe
Homemade Macau African Chicken
Ingredients
For Marinating Chicken
- 2 skin-on chicken thighs/legs/breast
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon & clove
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon onion finely chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus for frying
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 onion (L) chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika optional
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 100 ml chicken stock
- 100 ml tomato paste
- 100 ml coconut milk
- 2 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 20 g butter cut into cubes
Instructions
Marinate the Chicken
- Place the chicken on a plate.
- Add the marinade ingredients and rub it all over the chicken.
- Cover and chill 2 hours or overnight.
Make the sauce
- Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add ginger/garlic paste & stir until fragrant.
- Add onion and stir-fry briefly.
- Add the bay leaf, chili powder, paprika, pepper & salt, peanut butter; stir-fry for another few minutes until all the ingredients well coated and onion softened.
- Add chicken broth, coconut milk, vinegar, and sugar; stir well.
- Simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes over low heat, stirring often.
- Add butter and remove from heat. Set aside.
Fry the Chicken
- In a large skillet, heat about 2 Tbsp of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.
- Fry the chicken on high heat skin side down to brown.
- Flip the chicken over so the skin is now on top.
- Brown the chicken on all sides.
Finish the dish
- Heat the oven. Set it at 375F.
- Pour the prepared sauce over the chicken.
- Bake for 50 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven.
- Let the chicken cool, uncovered in the pan, for 15 minutes.
- Serve with bread or plain rice.
Notes
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