Peri-Peri Inspired Chicken Recipe.

Home Cooking and the Need to Innovate.

peri peri 6.jpg

What is good doing home cooking is that you can always innovate and adjust. This is particularly needful especially when you are at your house and you have limited ingredients. It is oftentimes inconvenient if you have to go out just to buy some small ingredients when it is not yet your scheduled day for groceries. The skill of having to adjust your recipe based on what is available in your kitchen is a necessity. I guess all people who are into home cooking is quite familiar with the situation.

I watched a YouTube video about this Portuguese chicken recipe and got the cravings of eating one. Now, when I checked the kitchen I practically missing the needed ingredients to make it a legitimate Peri-Peri chicken dish. From the name itself, peri-peri means pepper in Portuguese and the bell pepper vegetable is not among those in my vegetable section. What I have is a long green pepper. I still decided to proceed with my cooking and here it goes with what available ingredients I have.

Ingredients

peri peri 1.jpg

For the Chicken Marinade

1 kg. chicken cleaned and rubbed with salt.
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp. chili flakes
3 pcs. star anise
1 tsp. grated ginger
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp black pepper
6 tbsp. Canola or vegetable cooking oil
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp calamansi juice

peri peri 2.jpg

Vegetable Garnish

3 pcs. long green chili pepper
1 pc medium-sized onion

How to Cook

peri peri 3.jpg

First I mix all the ingredients for my marinade.
Sliced meaty part of the chicken with a knife to make sure liquid marinade will be absorbed.
Marinade chicken for at least 15 minutes ( best, if overnight).
After marinating, heat the pan set the flame to high.
Sear the marinated chicken in few minutes.
Once the chicken is seared turn flame to low and cook the chicken for another 12 minutes.
Do the same steps on the other side of the chicken.
Spread the prepared vegetable garnish on the sides of the pan with the chicken, cook for 2 minutes.

peri peri 4.jpg

Now, you can pour the marinade liquid on the sides of the chicken while the flame is set to low.
Let the liquid marinade boil and let the sauce thickens.

The Verdict.

The chicken still taste rich, yummy, and delicious. I must admit though that using bell pepper instead of just long green chili pepper for this dish is way better... both in smell and taste. No matter what lacking ingredients I may have, it still serves its purpose for a hearty meal. With careful thought and through experience, you can also innovate. The result may not be perfect but would be good enough. A delicious meal that can be shared by family and friends.

plagiarism free.png