Portuguese-African Spicy Piri-Piri Chicken

South Africa... What an amazing country it was! From the landscape to animals and foods,... everything was exotic, grand and exciting. There are so many things that I can talk about the country, but let's talk about one unexpected dish that I really loved and still remember even after 10 years.

The dish was, surprisingly, a humble chicken dish from a local restaurant franchise called Nando's. The 'Peri-peri' chicken is a smoky grilled chicken with complex spiciness served with Portuguese rice. Peri-Peri (or Piri-Piri) is a small spicy chili pepper you can find in South Africa and nearby countries, which was brought to the region by Portuguese settlers.

And more recently, I was very glad to find a Nando's location in my neighborhood! Yet, I still wanted to cook this spicy grilled chicken at home. Marinade the chicken with spicy sauce, then roast the chicken in an oven. Finally, finish under broiler to achieve the charred flavor. If you have an outdoor grill, please use your grill!

I served Piri-Piri chicken with Portuguese rice.... whose recipe is also included in this post.

Spicy Piri-Piri Chicken and Portuguese Rice
(Yield: one whole chicken / Cooking time: 1.5 hours*)
* 1.5 hours do not include four hours' of marinating time for chicken.

Ingredients:
+ one whole chicken (2.5-3 lb free range chicken)

Piri-Piri Marinade + 6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled + several sprigs of fresh thyme, strip off the leaves only + juice from one lemon + 1 tsp dried oregano + 2 tsp paprika + 6-8 peri-peri chili* (depends on how spicy you prefer) + one bay leaf + 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar + 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper + 1 tsp salt + 1/5 cup vegetable oil

Portuguese Rice + 1 cup basmati rice** + 1.5 cups water + 1/2 onion (~100g) + 3 cloves garlic + 1 green bell pepper + 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes + 1 Tbsp tomato paste + 1/2 tsp paprika + 1 bay leaf + fresh parsley and cilantro + 1 Tbsp butter + salt and pepper

*I bought African piri-piri chili from a spice market. If you cannot find piri-piri chili, Thai chili can be a good substitute. But you can use any of hot chilies variety, dry or fresh. Piri-piri chili that I bought was a bit less spicy than I thought. :)
** Any long-grain rice would work.


Procedures:
1. Mix all the ingredients under 'Piri-Piri Marinade' in a blender except vegetable oil. Slowly add the oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. (You can use hand blender instead of food processor). Taste the marinade and add one or two piri-piri to the marinade if you want more spicy chicken.


Now, you need to butterfly a whole chicken.
2-1. First, position the chicken with backside up. Then, remove backbone of the chicken with a pair of sharp scissors by cutting both sides of backbone.
2-2. Position the chicken so the drumsticks are pointing away from you. Cut the tip of cartilage that conceals the breastbone.
2-3. Lift up the breastbone with finger and remove it from the breast.
2-4. Now, you can lay flat the butterflied chicken.


3. Rub the chicken with piri-piri marinade made in #1. Cover the chicken and place it in a fridge at least for four hours or overnight.


4. Preheat your oven at 385°F(195°C), and take the chicken out from fridge and place over a roasting pan or sheet pan with a wired rack. Layer a sheet of parchment paper at the bottom of roasting pan. It will help prevent burning the dripping fat and sauce from the chicken while roasting. When the oven is preheated, roast the chicken for about an hour until the instant-read thermometer inserted in the chicken thigh registers at least 155°F(68°C). (165°F (74°C) is what USDA recommends for food safety). Crank up the oven in the last ten minutes to 450°F(232°C) to crisp the chicken skin.


* While the chicken is cooking in the oven, you can prepare Portuguese rice.

5. Over low heat, sweat diced onions with butter. When the onions become translucent, add diced green bell pepper and finely minced garlic.


6. Sprinkle red pepper flakes to the vegetables and continue to cook. When you smell the hot red pepper, mix tomato paste and paprika powder and add to the pan. Season with salt and pepper and cook a few minutes more until the tomato paste caramelized.


7. Add rinsed basmati rice, pour water and add bay leaf, and season lightly with salt and pepper, again. Increase the heat, and when the water boils rapidly, lower the heat to low and cover the pot. Cook for about 20 minutes until the rice is cooked, and water is absorbed by the rice. Add finely chopped parsley and cilantro leaves and fluff the rice.


8. Remove the chicken from the oven, and let the chicken rest for about 5-10 minutes loosely covered with cooking foil. During the resting time, the residual heat will continue to cook the inside of chicken (carry-over cooking). Also, resting is very important to distribute the juice in the meat evenly, and to relax the meat muscle that tightened during the cooking process.

Carve and serve with delicious Portuguese rice.