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Galinha à portuguesa (Portuguese chicken)
Galinha à portuguesa (葡國雞): chicken and potatoes baked in a mild yellow coconut curry sauce
Puzzlingly, you will not find this in Portugal: galinha à portuguesa belongs to Macau, where cooks mixed a Portuguese idea of a creamy baked chicken with the turmeric, curry powder and coconut milk that came through the Portuguese trading routes from Goa and Malacca. Macanese restaurants and Hong Kong's cha chaan teng serve it bubbling in a clay pot or baking dish, golden on top, with chicken and potatoes in a mild, yellow, gently sweet coconut sauce, always with white rice to soak it up. It is a favourite for family dinners and Christmas tables. The thing people get wrong is boiling the coconut sauce hard, so it splits and turns oily; keep it at a gentle simmer. Chef's tip: brown the chicken well first, and finish under a hot grill for the speckled golden top that Macau restaurants are known for.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 2 ¼ lb bone-in chicken thighsskin on, about 8
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
For the sauce
- 1 onionlarge, diced
- 4 cloves garlicfinely chopped
- 1 ½ tbsp mild curry powder
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- 1 ⅓ lb waxy potatoespeeled and cut into 3 cm chunks
- 1 carrotcut into chunks
- 1 ¼ cups chicken stockcheck it is gluten free
- 1 ¾ cups coconut milk
- 1 tsp sugar
- ½ tsp saltto taste
To serve
- 12 black olives (optional)
- 2 hard-boiled eggs (optional)quartered
- 1 handful flat-leaf parsley (optional)chopped
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Method
0/9 doneStep 1: Rub 2 ¼ lb bone-in chicken thighs with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp ground turmeric.
Step 2: Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide, flameproof casserole over a medium-high heat and brown the chicken skin side down until deep golden, then turn and brown briefly on the other side. Lift out.
8 minStep 3: Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Over a medium heat, fry 1 onion until soft and golden.
6 minStep 4: Add 4 cloves garlic, 1 ½ tbsp mild curry powder, 1 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp sweet paprika and 2 bay leaves and stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
1 minStep 5: Add 1 ⅓ lb waxy potatoes and 1 carrot and turn them in the spices, then pour in 1 ¼ cups chicken stock and bring to a simmer.
Step 6: Stir in 1 ¾ cups coconut milk, 1 tsp sugar and ½ tsp salt and bring back to a gentle simmer; don't let it boil hard. Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan).
Step 7: Nestle the chicken in the sauce, skin side up and above the liquid. Bake uncovered until the potatoes are tender and the chicken reaches 165°F in the thickest part of the thigh, with clear juices.
35 minStep 8: For a speckled golden top, switch to the grill for the last few minutes and watch closely.
4 minStep 9: Rest for 5 minutes, scatter with 12 black olives, 2 hard-boiled eggs and 1 handful flat-leaf parsley, and serve from the dish with rice.
5 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 690 kcal
- Protein
- 40 g
- Carbs
- 33 g
- Fat
- 45 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does galinha à portuguesa (Portuguese chicken) take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 55 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.
- What can I use instead of ground turmeric?
- Leave it out (it mostly adds colour).
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
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