 Poulet à la moambe served with rice (left) andsaka saka (right) | |
| Type | Stew |
|---|---|
| Region or state | Central Africa |
| Main ingredients | Chicken |
| Ingredients generally used | Tomatoes, garlic, chili powder/peppers, lemon, red palm oil, squash or pumpkin, stock, okra |
Moambe chicken (French:poulet à la moambe or simplypoulet moambe,Portuguese:moamba de galinha) is asavorychicken dish popular inCentral Africa and considered thenational dish ofAngola,the Republic of the Congo, andthe Democratic Republic of the Congo. The dish itself is made by combining chicken, spices and palm butter to create astew-like consistency. A number of local or regional variations exist across the Congo and Central Africa; the dish is also known outside the continent.
Poulet moambe (French for "chicken in palm butter sauce")[1] is prepared by cooking chicken inmoambe (palm butter) and spinach,[2] then seasoning it with spices likeperi-peri or red pepper. It is typically served withsweet potatoes, brown onions, hard-boiled eggs and a sauce made from crushed palm nuts.[3][4] Moambe chicken can also be accompanied by rice or manioc (cassava) paste.[5][6] The chicken can be substituted with duck or fish.[4][7]
Moambe chicken is regarded as thenational dish of theDemocratic Republic of the Congo.[8] In theRepublic of the Congo, the version that usespeanut butter is known asmuamba nsusu.Nsusu meanschicken inKikongo. It is also considered the national dish ofGabon where it is known aspoulet nyembwe, and inAngola where it is known asmoamba de galinha,[5] although the Angolan dish was claimed by Brazilians around 2002, it has always been a popular dish in Angola, which makes sense as Angola and Congo are neighbours whilst although many Angolans live in Brazil, it was obviously introduced to Brazil by those with Angolan roots. This may also be why Moqueca is also very popular in Brazil but is actually an Angolan dish too. This is also why Brazil has its own version of pirão.[9] It is a common household dish inBelgium.[10] Angolan moamba chicken can be found inPortugal.[11][12]