Suya is a well spiced Nigerian skewer that utilizes a crazy delicious coating. This coating, called Yaji, is a spicy combination of peppers, ginger, garlic, and crushed peanuts. The peanuts bring a lot of texture and savory flavor when these are charred. Traditionally, Suya would be made with beef, but chicken is often utilized as well. The video below also includes a recipe for Jollof Rice!
Prep Time | Cook Time | Serves |
10 Minutes | 20 Minutes` | 3-4 people |
Suya
1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thigh
Salt
Olive Oil
Bamboo skewers
Yaji Spice
50g (1/3 cup) unsalted roasted peanut
3g (2 tsp) smoked paprika
2g (1 tsp) cayenne
15 grinds pepper
3.5g (1 tsp) onion powder
3.5g (1 tsp) garlic powder
1.5g (1 tsp) ground ginger
5g (1 tbsp) chicken powder
Pinch of ground clove
Step 1: Make The Yaji Spice Mix
In a food processor or a mortar and pestle begin crushing the peanuts. Add the rest of the spice ingredients once the peanuts are a sandy texture. This should be very fine, but don’t let it rip for too long or you run into the potential of turning this into peanut butter.
Step 2: Prep And Cook Chicken
Slice the chicken into thin pieces and remove any excess fat from the chicken. Thigh has the right amount of fat in it for high heat cooking, so you can take these till they’re nice and brown without worrying about dry chicken in the end. Season these with salt now and oil now.
If you’ve got wooden skewers, be sure to soak them so they don’t burn, if you have metal ones, don’t worry about that. Coat the chicken in the Yaji spice. The best way to do this is just pour the Yaji over the salted chicken and then toss them around until covered. From there skewer the chicken but leave a little more space around each piece for airflow. Place this on a sheet tray with a rack and this can go under the broiler for about 20 minutes, just be sure to flip the skewers every couple of minutes so the peanuts don’t burn.
The chicken should be charred, juicy, and well spiced. They're incredibly addicting. I like these with a little squeeze of lemon; they're perfect like that.
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