Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia · Volume 09, The Taro Patch, the Pounding Stone and the Sakau Cup
Chicken fafa
Palau
Illustration
- Time
- 1 hour
- Researched
- Researched from 35 sources in the brief
Chicken pieces simmered in coconut milk with taro leaves, spinach substituted where taro leaf is unavailable, as the source material itself notes, garlic, ginger and onion.
As tradition built it
Serves 4. About 1 hour.
Ingredients
- 1 kg bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 onion, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 thumb ginger
- 600 ml coconut milk
- 300 g taro leaves, blanched and chopped (or spinach, where taro leaf is unavailable)
- to taste salt, to season
- to serve rice, to serve
Method
- Brown the chicken thighs, then remove from the pan.
- Soften the sliced onion, garlic and ginger in the same pan.
- Return the chicken, cover with the coconut milk, and simmer covered for 35 to 40 minutes until the chicken is tender.
- Stir through the taro leaves for the final 8 minutes.
- Season with salt and serve with rice.
Notes
Quantities reconstructed from documented technique, order of operations and stated timings; no named traditional measured source was found for this dish.
What a modern chef changes
The thighs held at a set temperature, the braising liquor reduced separately, the skin seared hard at the end
Rung 3
Method
- Sous vide the chicken thighs at 68°C for 90 minutes in a fraction of the coconut milk with the aromatics.
- Finish the braising liquor separately by reduction to a glossy sauce.
- Sear the chicken skin hard just before serving, for a texture the long braise alone never gives.
- Fold the taro leaves through at the very end, wilted only, rather than cooked into the sauce, keeping their colour and bite distinct from the meat.