Popular in Senegal and Gambia, and with origins in the Casamance regions of Senegal, chicken Yassa is iconic and one of the most popular dishes from West Africa. Why not? The divine combination of tender chicken with concentrated flavours from lemon, mustard and caramelized onions comes together to create a unique, scrumptious taste.
Yassa chicken is one of the legacies from the French occupation of this part of Africa. It is called poulet Yassa or poulet au Yassa in French. It is locally known as Yassa guinar. Although it is easy to make this dish, it is not quick. Yassa chicken needs time for the chicken to marinate and for the onions to caramelize while cooking, but this is time well spent as the result is amazingly delicious. It is eaten with rice (commonly broken rice) or cous cous, but it is delicious with other foods as well.
How To Make Chicken Yassa
Here are the ingredients you need...
- Chicken thighs
- Onions
- Lemons
- Dijon mustard
- Garlic
- Oil
- Scotch bonnet pepper
- Mixed olives
- Salt to taste
- Bay leaves
- Black pepper
- Red sweet pepper
A few notes about the ingredients...
- Chicken: Bone-in chicken is preferred for chicken Yassa, as it is more flavourful and moist. Yassa can also be prepared with fish (poisson Yassa is also popular) or other meats like lamb.
- Onions: This recipe calls for a lot of onions. Do not be tempted to reduce the quantity, as it reduces significantly after caramelizing.
- Lemon: You can use lime instead of lemon, but you must not omit this ingredient. It is not Yassa, without the characteristic sharp tang from the lemon or lime.
- Olives: I tried two chicken Yassa recipes – one with olives and the other without because I’m not too fond of olives. I preferred the recipe with olives. The savoury taste of the olives is balanced by the tangy sweetness from the sauce, which adds to, rather than takes away from the chicken Yassa flavours. If you’re sceptical about olives, I recommend you try it the first time you make this recipe; you can omit it the next time if you don’t like it.
How To Cook It...
Chicken Yassa Marinade
Pat the chicken dry and slash
Peel and slice the onions thinly.
Finely Mince the garlic and juice the lemons.
Add the minced garlic and lemon into a bowl. Combine with the mustard, one teaspoon salt and one tablespoon oil. Mix well with a spoon.
Add the onions into the bowl. Mix well with the other ingredients, then place the chicken thighs in the bowl. Combine with the onion marinade, making sure the onions cover the chicken.
Cover the bowl with a cling film and keep it in the fridge overnight. If you’re making it on the same day, marinate the chicken for at least 6 hours.
Chicken Yassa Sauce
Slice the red pepper and keep aside.
Remove the chicken from the marinade. Grill in the air-fryer at 1900C for 10 mins to brown. You can also do this in an oven or by frying in a pan. If you’re frying in oil, turn over the chicken after a few minutes to get both sides nicely browned.
Pour the onion marinade into a colander to separate the liquid from the onions.
Heat the remaining oil in a pan under medium heat, then add the onions.
Stir occasionally until the onions start to brown. Reduce the heat and stir more often for even browning and to prevent sticking. Remove from heat when the onion has turned a golden brown colour. You will also see the oil at the bottom of the pan, separated from the onions. Caramelizing the onions takes at least 30 mins to get good colour and flavour.
Add a cup of water to the pan, taste for salt and add more if needed. Then add the liquid that was earlier separated from the onions. Next, add the bay leaves and place the chicken into the pot with the scotch bonnet peppers. Cover the pan and bring the heat back to medium.
Cook for 15 mins, then mix in the olives. Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking and cook for 10 mins before adding the peppers.
Stir again and leave to cook for another 5 mins; by this time, the liquid is reduced, and the flavours nicely concentrated. Remove from heat and serve.
Recipe FAQ
Like most chicken stews, chicken Yassa freezes very well and will keep in the freezer for many weeks. You can also store it in the fridge for about a week – It will become thick as it cools. Just add some liquid before warming in the microwave or on the hob.
Related Recipes
Other popular West African recipes to try;
Chicken Yassa
Ingredients
- 4 Onions
- 2 Lemons
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 4 cloves Garlic
- Salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon Black pepper
- 4 Chicken thighs
- ¼ cup Oil
- 2 Scotch bonnet pepper
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 cup Mixed olives
- 1 Sweet Red pepper big
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry and slash
- Peel and slice the onions thinly.
- Finely Mince the garlic and juice the lemons. Slice the red pepper and keep aside.
- Add the minced garlic and lemon into a bowl. Combine with the mustard, one teaspoon salt and one tablespoon oil. Mix well with a spoon.
- Add the onions into the bowl. Mix well with the other ingredients, then place the chicken thighs in the bowl. Combine with the onion marinade, making sure the onions cover the chicken.
- Cover the bowl with a cling film and keep it in the fridge overnight.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade. Grill in the air-fryer at 190°C for 10 mins to brown. You can also do this in an oven or by frying in a pan. If you’re frying in oil, turn over the chicken after a few minutes to get both sides nicely browned.
- Pour the onion marinade into a colander to separate the liquid from the onions.
- Heat the remaining oil in a pan under medium heat, then add the onions. Stir occasionally until the onions start to brown. Reduce the heat and stir more often for even browning and prevent sticking. Remove from heat when the onion has turned a golden brown colour.
- Add a cup of water to the pan, taste for salt and add more if needed. Then add the liquid that was earlier separated from the onions. Next, add the bay leaves and place the chicken into the pot with the scotch bonnet peppers. Cover the pan and bring the heat back to medium.
- Cook for 15 mins, then mix in the olives. Stir with a wooden spoon to prevent sticking and cook for 10 mins before adding the peppers. Stir again and leave to cook for another 5 mins. Remove from heat and serve.
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