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Bamboo chicken
ব্যাম্বু চিকেন (bamboo chicken): Bandarban hill-style spiced chicken slow-roasted inside a green bamboo tube
Trekkers heading up to Nilgiri and Boga Lake in the Chittagong Hill Tracts look forward to one meal in particular: chicken that Marma and Bawm cooks pack into a freshly cut length of green bamboo, plug with leaves and lean against the embers until the tube blackens and hisses. Inside, the meat steams in its own juices with ginger, garlic, lemongrass, turmeric and bird's-eye chilli, and picks up a faint grassy sweetness from the bamboo. It is eaten with plain rice and a sharp chilli chutney, often at a jungle campfire. At home a heavy lidded casserole or a tight foil-and-banana-leaf parcel in the oven gives a very close result. The trap is packing in too much liquid, which boils the chicken instead of steaming it; the meat makes its own juice. Chef's tip: use small bone-in pieces, because large joints stay undercooked in the middle of a tube.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 4 cm piece fresh gingerfinely grated
- 6 cloves garliccrushed
- 2 stalks lemongrasstender part finely sliced
- 4 bird's-eye chilliescrushed
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp red chilli powder
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp mustard oil
- 1 small bunch fresh corianderchopped
For cooking
- 2 green bamboo tubes, about 8 cm wide, closed at one end at the noderinsed (or a casserole with a lid, or foil and banana leaves)
- 2 banana leaves (optional)to plug or wrap
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Method
0/6 doneStep 1: In a bowl, mix 2 ¼ lb chicken thighs and drumsticks, skinless, chopped into 4 cm pieces with 1 onion, 4 cm piece fresh ginger, 6 cloves garlic, 2 stalks lemongrass, 4 bird's-eye chillies, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 ½ tsp salt and 2 tbsp mustard oil, rubbing the paste into the meat. Cover and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
Step 2: Stir 1 small bunch fresh coriander into the chicken.
Step 3: Pack the chicken firmly into the 2 green bamboo tubes, about 8 cm wide, closed at one end at the node tubes and plug the open ends tightly with rolled 2 banana leaves. For the oven, pack it into a heavy lidded casserole lined with leaf, or wrap it in a double layer of leaf and foil.
5 minStep 4: Over a campfire, lean the tubes at an angle against glowing embers and roast for 50–60 minutes, turning every 10 minutes so they char evenly. In an oven, bake at 350°F for 55–60 minutes.
60 minStep 5: Open one tube or parcel and check a thick piece: the juices must run clear and it should read 165°F. If not, close it and cook for 10 more minutes.
Step 6: Shake the chicken and its juices out into a dish, or split the tube lengthways at the table, and serve with rice.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 330 kcal
- Protein
- 36 g
- Carbs
- 6 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does bamboo chicken take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 25 minutes to prepare and 65 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of fresh ginger?
- ¼ tsp ground ginger per tbsp fresh (add it with the spices).
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