Some like it orange, others yellow. I like it red. My chicken of course. I like my chicken red. Generally speaking I tend to migrate towards red food. Whether its fruits like strawberries and cherries, or stews and mixed rice, like gheimeh (split pea stew) or loubia polo (green bean rice). But this is by far my favorite way to cook chicken. I call it Red Chicken (very clever I know). It’s a simple name because it’s a simple recipe. It’s awesome, because you only need a small list of ingredients and it’s super simple and quick to make. You really cannot get it wrong. You can make the Red Chicken to go with plain rice, or with zereshk polo (barberries with rice). So without further a due, I introduce you the Red Chicken. This recipe is for a serving of 3-4 people. Try it tonight and leave me a comment to let me know how yours turned out.
What you will need: (refer to the “essentials" post for more info)
- 1 teaspoon ghee or cooking oil - Medium size non-stick pan
- 1 medium size onion - wooden spoon
- 1 pack of 500gr boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon lemon powder (optional)
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ghee or cooking oil - Medium size non-stick pan
- 1 medium size onion - wooden spoon
- 1 pack of 500gr boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon lemon powder (optional)
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup tomato paste
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- Peel and slice the onion. For this chicken, I like to keep the onion slices chunky so that even after they fry and shrink, you’ll still be able to see them amongst your chicken. (if you happen to hate seeing onions in your food, slice them small and thin).
- Put the ghee in the pan and place pan over medium heat on the stove.
- Throw in the onions.
- Put the ghee in the pan and place pan over medium heat on the stove.
- Throw in the onions.
- Fry until golden brown (10-15min)
- Add the chicken thighs. Stir them in a little so it mixes with the onions.
- Add in all your spices: salt, pepper, turmeric and lime powder if you have any.
- Add the chicken thighs. Stir them in a little so it mixes with the onions.
- Add in all your spices: salt, pepper, turmeric and lime powder if you have any.
- Add ½ cup of water and stir it all in so that the spices dissolve.
- Let it sit like that for 2 min.
- Add in the tomato paste. It will stick to the chicken at first and might be hard to mix in, so just do it slowly so that it doesn’t splash all over your stove and counter.
- Let it sit like that for 2 min.
- Add in the tomato paste. It will stick to the chicken at first and might be hard to mix in, so just do it slowly so that it doesn’t splash all over your stove and counter.
- Add the rest of the water and lemon juice and mix it all in with the paste so that everything is dissolved.
- Cover and leave on medium heat for 20 mins.
- Remove the lid and stir. Make sure there is still water in your mixture and nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan. If the water is all gone add another cup of water and reduce your heat. If the water is mostly gone, add another ½ cup of water and reduce to medium low. (I'm using an electrical stove, so my heat may be different than yours.) There should always be a happy medium of water and paste. The mixture should be red and thick, not clear and separated.
- Cover and leave on medium heat for 20 mins.
- Remove the lid and stir. Make sure there is still water in your mixture and nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pan. If the water is all gone add another cup of water and reduce your heat. If the water is mostly gone, add another ½ cup of water and reduce to medium low. (I'm using an electrical stove, so my heat may be different than yours.) There should always be a happy medium of water and paste. The mixture should be red and thick, not clear and separated.
- Cover and leave on for another 20 min.
- The longer the chicken cooks in this mixture, the more tender and juicier your chicken will be.
- Check again to make sure nothing is sticking to your pan and that you have your nice medium of water and paste.
- Reduce heat to low and let simmer for another 15 – 20 min or so. Your water should separate the oil. Meaning you will notice small pools of oil gather on the surface of your mixture. This is how you know your mixture is ready.
- The longer the chicken cooks in this mixture, the more tender and juicier your chicken will be.
- Check again to make sure nothing is sticking to your pan and that you have your nice medium of water and paste.
- Reduce heat to low and let simmer for another 15 – 20 min or so. Your water should separate the oil. Meaning you will notice small pools of oil gather on the surface of your mixture. This is how you know your mixture is ready.
- Chicken joke:
Chicken and James Bond meet for the first time.
James Bond: “My name is Bond; James Bond.”
The chicken: “My name is Ken; Chi-Ken” LOL!!!!! :)
Chicken and James Bond meet for the first time.
James Bond: “My name is Bond; James Bond.”
The chicken: “My name is Ken; Chi-Ken” LOL!!!!! :)
