Chicken suya
Nigerian street-grill flavor at home: chicken rubbed in a spicy, nutty peanut spice mix and charred, served with crisp onions and tomatoes.
- 40 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $2.34 a serving
- 420 calories
- Good the next day
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- ½ cup peanuts
- 1 chicken bouillon cube
- 1½ lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into long strips
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tomatoes, sliced
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
From your pantry
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp paprika
- ¾ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Each serving has about 420 calories, 40 g protein, 15 g carbs and 23 g fat, and costs about $2.34 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No boneless chicken thighs? Chicken breasts or chicken tenderloins work.
- No red onions? White onions or yellow onions work.
- No tomatoes? Roma tomatoes work.
- No limes? Lemons work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 450°F and line a with foil.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Sheet pan. A sheet pan is a flat metal baking tray with a low rim all the way around. The rim catches juices, and the wide surface lets food spread out and brown.
How you’ll know: Everything fits in one layer with a little space between the pieces.
Put the peanuts in a zip-top bag and crush them with the bottom of a heavy pan until they look like coarse sand.
Dolly’s tip: Stop before it turns pasty, or you’ll have peanut butter.Mix the crushed peanuts with the ginger, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cayenne, bouillon cube and salt. Save 2 tablespoons for the end.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
the chicken with the oil, then with the spice mix, pressing so it sticks.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Spread the chicken on the pan in one layer and 12 minutes.
Roast. Roasting means cooking in a hot oven, around 400°F to 450°F, usually spread out on a sheet pan. The dry heat browns the outside and brings out sweetness, especially in vegetables.
How you’ll know: The edges are browned and a little crisp, and a fork slides easily into the thickest piece.
Timer: 12 min
Switch to and broil 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges are and the biggest strip reads 165°F.
Broil. Broiling means cooking under the oven’s top heating element, with strong heat from above. It browns and crisps the top in minutes, and it can burn fast, so stay close.
How you’ll know: The top bubbles and spots golden brown; check every minute and pull it before it blackens.
Char. Charring means cooking over very high heat until some spots turn black. Those dark spots add a smoky, slightly bitter flavor that balances sweet or rich food.
How you’ll know: You see black spots and blisters in places, while most of the surface keeps its own color.
Timer: 3 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: The peanut coating darkens fast under the broiler. Stay close.Food safety: Chicken and turkey are done at 165°F in the thickest part. A thermometer is the only sure check. Without one, cut into the thickest piece: it should be white all the way through, with no pink.
Pile the chicken over the onion and tomatoes, sprinkle with the saved spice mix, and serve with lime wedges.
Slice. Slicing means cutting food into flat pieces of about the same thickness. Even slices cook evenly, so none are raw while others burn.
How you’ll know: Lay a few side by side: they’re close to the same thickness from one end to the other.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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