One of the most enjoyable parts of travel is to taste the foods that are indigenous to different countries and cultures.
If you judge Mexican food by local restaurants you would miss the incredible variety of moles for Oaxaca, for example. The
stews of Hunan province are not served in Chinese restaurants and African food is hard to find outside of large cities.
But traveling to all these regions to sample these wonderful cuisines is impossible, so we turn to cookbooks. A newer and
faster and cheaper way to do that now is to download an Ebook from someone who is familiar with these foods and has tested
each recipe. You can print each recipe as needed and keep the rest in a file on your computer.
Here is one recipe from
Hot & Spicy Soups & Stews From Around the
WorldAfrican Chicken Stew
West Africa
Serves 4 to 6Note: This Stew is Hot! Adjust the amount of chiles to your tastes
Ingredients:
- 1 ½ lb. boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped
- ½ tbsp. paprika
- 1 tsp. each ground nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, and allspice
- 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1 14 oz. can tomato pieces
- 2 habanero or Scotch bonnet chiles, finely chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
- 2 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size pieces
- 5 dried chiles, soaked for 2 hours in hot water
- 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
- parsley for garnish
Drain and chop soaked dried chiles, set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in non-stick stew pot. Add onions, garlic, ginger, fresh chiles, fry until the onions have begun to
soften. Add chicken cubes, fry until very lightly browned. Add spices and cook for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, dried chiles, and peanut butter. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring
occasionally, for 30 minutes.
Add vinegar and peeled and cubed sweet potatoes. Cook until sweet potatoes are done (20 to 30 minutes).
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley.
About the Author
Pat Schraier is an
ECookbook writer and former restaurant chef/owner. She has been cooking since she was 4.
Soup & Stews Cookbook Hot & Spicy Food BlogWebsite 
