Xinxim de Galinha
Chicken braised with ground dried shrimp, peanuts, and cashews in a dendê palm oil and coconut milk sauce, not a generic peanut stew. Brought by enslaved Africans during the colonial period, xinxim shares the same dendê-oil culinary lineage as the already-featured vatapa, moqueca, and bobo de camarao, and holds real religious significance in Candomble, traditionally offered to the orixa Oxum.
Meat
⚠ Contains: Shellfish, Peanut, Tree Nut. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
Ingredients
- 3 lb bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
- Juice of 2 limes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup dried shrimp, ground
- 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, ground
- 1/4 cup roasted cashews, chopped
- 3 tbsp dende (palm) oil
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 malagueta or other chili, minced, to taste
- Salt, to taste
- Cilantro, for garnish
Steps
- Marinate the chicken in lime juice, garlic, and salt for 30 minutes.
- Sear the chicken in a bit of dende oil until browned, then set aside.
- In the same pot, saute the onion and tomato until softened.
- Stir in the ground dried shrimp, ground peanuts, and chopped cashews, and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Return the chicken to the pot, add the coconut milk and enough water to mostly cover.
- Simmer covered 35-40 minutes until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened.
- Stir in the remaining dende oil and minced chili at the end.
- Garnish with cilantro and serve with white rice and farofa.