Senegalese Chicken Yassa
Overview
Chicken Yassa is one of Senegal's most internationally celebrated dishes, a deeply flavoured stew where chicken is marinated in an aggressive mixture of lemon juice, mustard, and onions, grilled or seared until charred, then slowly cooked with an enormous quantity of caramelised onions until they collapse into a rich, tangy, slightly sweet sauce. The dish is a masterclass in the power of onions as a flavour base. Five or six large onions per chicken is not unusual, they cook down dramatically and transform into a completely different thing: sweet, golden, and complex. The lemon keeps the sauce bright and the mustard adds a subtle depth. Yassa is eaten across Senegal, Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau and wherever Senegalese communities have settled globally.
AFN Heritage Note
Yassa originates from the Casamance region of southern Senegal, among the Diola and Mandinka peoples. It is one of the foundational dishes of Senegalese cuisine and has spread throughout West Africa and the Senegalese diaspora worldwide. The word yassa refers to the technique of marinating and cooking with lemon and onion, a preparation method that is both practical, the acid tenderises the meat, and deeply flavourful.
Ingredients
Dietary tags are provided by contributors as a guide, not verified by AFN, and they depend on the products you buy. If you have a serious allergy, check every ingredient yourself. Cooking, allergies and your own judgement
Directions
- 1Marinate the Chicken
Put the chicken and onions into a large glass bowl.
- 2
Cut a few slits in the habanero pepper and add it to the bowl.
- 3
Whisk marinade ingredients in a small bowl and pour on top.
- 4
Toss to coat
- 5
Cover bowl with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hours or, preferably, overnight.
- 6Brown the Chicken and Caramelize the Onions
Preheat the oven to 176ºC.
- 7
Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat in a large heavy pot or Dutch oven.
- 8
Remove the chicken from the marinade and sprinkle pieces with a few pinches of salt and a few grinds of pepper, to taste.
- 9
Brown chicken on both sides in batches, three pieces at a time, about 5 minutes per batch.
- 10
Transfer to a plate and set aside. Spoon out some of the chicken fat from the pot, leaving about one tablespoon.
- 11
Caramelize the Onions Set the hot pepper aside and scrape the onions and all the marinade into the pot over medium-high heat.
- 12
Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes to get the onions hot and cooking. Cover the pot and turn the heat to medium-low.
- 13
Let the onions cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes more, until they are soft and starting to caramelize.
- 14
Regulate the heat so they don’t burn.
- 15
Use a spatula or wooden spoon to move onions aside, as you lay chicken pieces into the bottom of the pot, and then mound the onions on top of the chicken pieces.
- 16
Place the hot pepper in the middle of the pot. Pour in chicken broth. Turn the heat to medium high and bring the broth to a simmer.
- 17
Cover the pot and put it in the oven and cook for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Serve with fluffy white rice and sliced green olives.
Reviews
3 reviews
Finding scotch bonnet here in Dallas is always a struggle so I used habanero from H-E-B instead. I was skeptical about slicing 5 whole onions at first but after marinating overnight with the lemon juice and dijon, they caramelized so well with the leg quarters. remimded me of my Senegalese neighbor's cooking in university. e sweet sha!
I left mine in the fridge till the next morning like you said. Slitting the habanero pepper instead of chopping it gave the onion marinade just the right heat level without making it unbearable for my kids. Bone-in chicken breast was so tender o.
chale 2 tablespoons of dijon mustard was a bit too sharp paired with half a cup of lemon juice oo. It overpowered the chicken breasts a bit. Next time I will cut the lemon juice to a quarter cup so the sweet onions can balance it paa.