A couple of special ingredients can be all you need to transform a simple one-pot meal into a complex and flavorful dish. This braised chicken utilizes two distinctive pantry items: ají amarillo paste and canned coconut milk. Ají amarillo is a bright orange chili native to Peru that tastes as radiant as it looks. It's round and full in aroma, with hints of tropical fruit. Coconut milk balances the chili's heat, adding richness and a mellow sweetness to the dish.Former Serious Eats editor Max Falkowitz described ají amarillo best when he said, "If there were a chili to taste like sunshine, this would be it." In terms of heat, it’s about as spicy as cayenne pepper, but it doesn’t seem nearly as fiery, thanks to plenty of fruity and floral notes to balance out the heat. Unlike the grassy, stinging aroma of jalapeños or Thai chilies, ají amarillo smells round and full, with notes of tropical fruit. It’s ubiquitous throughout Peru and much of South America in dishes such as papas a la huancaína (potatoes smothered in a sauce of ají amarillo and queso fresco) and ají de gallina (shredded chicken in a rich sauce of ají amarillo, walnuts, cheese, and milk).Ají amarillo is readily available from Peruvian and Mexican grocery stores, as well as online. It’s sold in several forms, from frozen to dried or—my favorite—as a paste. Ají amarillo paste can easily be stirred into sauces, tossed with roasted vegetables, or served with eggs for a change of pace from Tabasco.Coconut and ají amarillo often find themselves together in ceviche, but in the dead of winter, this combination also makes for a rich and cheerful-looking braise. The technique I use for it is exactly like the one Kenji outlines for crispy and tender chicken thighs, made just a little bit saucier with the addition of coconut milk.
Notes
Why it works:
- Bright and fruity ají amarillo paste brings both heat and acidity to this rich braise.
- Slightly sweet and fatty coconut milk balances the chili's heat.
- Searing the chicken on the stove first gives you crispy skin, while finishing in the oven makes the thighs fall-apart tender.
- Bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs offer up more flavor to the dish.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil - or any neutral-flavored oil
- 4 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs - about 30 ounces; 800g
- kosher salt - to taste
- ½ large yellow onion - 7 ounces; 200g, sliced
- 4 medium cloves garlic - minced
- 1 13.6-ounce can coconut milk - 400ml
- ¼ to ½ cup ají amarillo paste - 60 to 120ml
- ½ small butternut squash - 1 ¼ pounds; 600g, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch-thick slices
- ¾ cup frozen peas - 3 ½ ounces; 100g
- ½ bunch fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems - 1 ounce; 30g, roughly chopped
- cooked rice or boiled yuca - for serving
Instructions
Brown the chicken:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C) and adjust rack to lower-middle position.
- Add coconut oil to a 6-quart Dutch oven or similar heavy-bottomed, oven-safe pot and heat over medium-high heat until oil shimmers.
- Season chicken thighs with salt and sear, skin side down, until golden brown, about 4 minutes.
- Flip chicken and sear on other side until browned, about 4 minutes longer.
- Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.
Make the sauce:
- Drain any excess fat from pot and lower heat to medium.
- Add sliced onion and minced garlic to pot and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the chicken, until translucent and tender, about 5 minutes.
- Increase heat to high, then add coconut milk, ají amarillo, and squash and bring to a simmer.
- Season with salt.
Braise the chicken:
- Return chicken to pot along with any accumulated juices, resting it skin side up on top of squash so that skin remains above the surface of the liquid.
- Transfer pot to oven and bake, uncovered, until chicken is cooked through and squash is tender, about 45 minutes.
Finish and serve:
- Remove from oven and stir in peas and cilantro.
- Serve right away with rice or boiled yuca.