Food & Recipes
Kuku Paka – East African-Style Chicken Curry
Kuku Paka, an East African-style chicken curry is a boldly seasoned chicken infused with exotic flavors of Africa.
We’ve been on a curry kick lately. For the past couple of weeks, I can’t count how many times I have made curry for dinner, and the family hasn’t complained once. My guess is, they aren’t tired of it yet. Then again, can you really get tired of curry? Personally, I will say no, but that’s just me.
African cuisines are among the most diverse and versatile dishes in the world. It has many different influences which is one of the things that makes it unique. Sometimes the recipes can be time-consuming to prepare, but the result is worth the wait. Thankfully, today’s’ recipe requires little to no prep time, and it can be ready in less than 30 minutes.
This recipe could work as a quick weeknight recipe using ingredients you already have in your pantry. Although I used fresh spinach, you can substitute with frozen spinach, just make sure you squeeze out the water before adding it. I also added additional curry, hence the curry in the picture above but that’s based on preference.
The recipe makes enough for 6 people depending on how you like it. We paired ours with white rice, but you can have it with noodles or whatever else you see fit. Traditionally, this recipe calls for tomatoes, or tomato paste to cut down on the spiciness. However, we like it better without the tomatoes because we want the heat, hence the addition of de arbol chile.
East African-Style Chicken Curry – Kuku Paka
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil or coconut oil
- 6 scallions, chopped
- 1 medium sized onion, chopped
- 1 tbsp of minced garlic
- 1½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into cubes
- ½ packet of chicken bullion (similar)
- 1 cup coconut cream
- 3 tbsp green curry paste (similar)
- ⅘ dried chili peppers (optional)
- 1 cup spinach, shredded or chopped
- freshly cooked rice to serve
- Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic, onion and scallions and cook, stirring constantly.
- Stir in the chicken and add chicken bullion stirring constantly and let it cook for about 3-5 minutes or until chicken changes color
- Slowly stir in the coconut cream, curry paste, if you want extra heat, add the dried chili peppers and let it simmer for about 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked thoroughly.
- Add in the chopped spinach the last 3 minutes, cook till it wilts.
- Transfer curry to a serving dish and garnish as you see fit.
- Serve with cooked rice and Enjoy!!
I adapted this recipe from an old hot and spicy recipe book (similar).
