Looking for a great peri peri chicken recipe? For those that don’t know, Peri peri chicken is a dish that originates from Mozambique in Africa.  The dish is made with chicken that is marinated in a sauce made from chilies, lemon, garlic, and other spices. The chicken is then grilled or roasted. Peri peri chicken can be served with a variety of sides, but the most popular side dish is rice.

The Origin of Peri Peri Chicken

The history of peri peri chicken begins in the 15th century when Portuguese explorers traveled to Mozambique. These explorers brought with them chili peppers, which they planted in the country. The African bird’s eye chili pepper is a descendant of these chili peppers that were brought over by the Portuguese explorers.

The first mention of peri peri chicken was in 1956 in a cookbook called “Mozambique Recipes” by Eduardo De Carvalho. This cookbook contained a recipe for what was then called “chicken piripiri.” In this recipe, chicken was marinated in a sauce made from African bird’s eye chili peppers, lemon juice, garlic, and onion. The chicken was then grilled over charcoal.

The recipe for peri peri chicken began to gain popularity in the 1970s when Africans who were living in Portugal began to open restaurants that served the dish. These restaurants became popular among tourists who were visiting Portugal. From there, the recipe for peri peri chicken spread to other countries such as United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, and United States.

Peri Peri Chicken Recipe

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Season chicken with salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat, and cook chicken until browned. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In the same skillet, sauté onions and garlic until softened. Add bell peppers and sauté for 2 more minutes.
4. Stir in chicken broth, white wine vinegar, and peri peri sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Return chicken to the skillet and simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
6. Transfer mixture to a baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breast, cut into small strips
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 tbsp peri peri sauce (or more to taste)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Small Axe Peppers does not currently offer a pure Peri Peri Hot Sauce, however there are some alternatives which we could recommend. We would recommend adding butter to our Ghost Pepper Hot Sauce and reducing for a little bit to make it thicker consistency. You can also try adding some of these hot sauces to our peri peri chicken recipe to spice things up!