[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":384},["ShallowReactive",2],{"recipe:kedjenou":3,"recipe:country:ivory-coast":184},{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"pronunciation":7,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"emoji":10,"summary":11,"intro":12,"story":13,"whyThis":14,"tips":19,"substitutions":26,"variations":39,"serveWith":49,"storage":51,"faq":52,"equipment":68,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":74,"restMinutes":75,"difficulty":76,"course":77,"diet":79,"mainIngredients":83,"ingredients":88,"instructions":136,"nutrition":159,"images":166,"keywords":176,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},"kedjenou","Kedjenou (Ivorian Sealed-Pot Chicken Stew)","Kédjénou","keh-jeh-NOO","ivory-coast","Southern forest belt","🍲","Chicken, tomato, ginger and whole chilli sealed in a pot and cooked in nothing but their own juices. No added water, no stirring — the pot gets shaken instead.","Kedjenou is chicken slow-steamed inside a sealed pot with tomato, onion, ginger and a whole chilli, and absolutely no liquid added. The lid is closed tight, the pot goes over low heat or into the oven, and every ten minutes somebody picks it up and shakes it so nothing sticks — a spoon is never used. What comes out an hour later is meat that pulls off the bone and a small quantity of intensely concentrated juice that tastes of chicken, ginger heat and cooked tomato with nothing diluting it. In Côte d'Ivoire it is made in a canari, a round-bellied earthenware pot, and served with attiéké or rice to soak up every spoonful of that liquid. It is one of the few West African dishes where restraint, not layering, does the work.","The name comes from a Baoulé phrase describing exactly what the cook does: shake the pot. That instruction is the whole technique. A canari — unglazed clay, narrow-necked, wide-bellied — is packed with chicken or guinea fowl and aromatics, the mouth is sealed with banana leaves and a paste of clay or dough, and the pot is buried in embers or set over a slow fire. Because the seal is genuine, no steam escapes; the bird cooks in the water it releases, and the pot is periodically lifted and rocked to redistribute everything without opening it.\n\nGuinea fowl, not chicken, is the prestige version. Ivorian guinea fowl is leaner, gamier and much tougher than a supermarket chicken, and the long sealed steam is what turns it tender. The dish is associated with the Baoulé of the centre and with the forest south generally, and it is celebration food more than daily food — the pot is large, the cooking is slow, and it is the sort of thing made when there are people to feed. It also appears on maquis menus across Abidjan, where it is often cooked in a heavy metal pot rather than clay and finished faster.\n\nHow strictly Ivorian kedjenou is depends on who you ask. Sealed-pot cooking with aromatics and no added water turns up in several West African kitchens, and the tomato-ginger-chilli base is regional common ground rather than a national signature. What is specific here is the name, the shaking, and the pairing with attiéké — a starch that belongs to this coast more clearly than the stew does. Home cooks abroad get very close with a heavy casserole and a lid weighted or sealed with foil; the clay contributes even, gentle heat and a faint mineral note, but the discipline of never opening and never stirring matters far more than the material of the pot.",[15,16,17,18],"Uses the real method — sealed lid, no water, shake instead of stir — so the sauce concentrates rather than dilutes.","Works in an ordinary Dutch oven, with a foil seal that reproduces what the clay canari does.","Gives the doneness cues by look and sound, since you are cooking blind for most of the hour.","Scales cleanly for a crowd: the same pot logic holds whether you cook one bird or three.",[20,21,22,23,24,25],"Use bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces. Boneless breast dries out badly here because there is no broth to protect it.","Cut the onion and tomato coarsely, not finely. They have to release water slowly over an hour, and small dice collapses into mush in twenty minutes.","Leave the chilli whole and unpierced unless you want real heat — it perfumes the pot through its skin and can be lifted out at the end.","Shake by gripping the pot with both hands and swirling it flat, not by rocking it end to end, which pushes the seal open.","If liquid looks thin at the end, uncover and boil hard for three or four minutes; kedjenou should be glossy and clinging, not soupy.","A guinea fowl needs about 20 minutes longer than chicken and rewards it — check that the thigh meat pulls away from the bone before you serve.",[27,31,35],{"original":28,"swap":29,"note":30},"Guinea fowl","Bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks","Chicken is what most Ivorian households use on an ordinary day too. Thighs handle the long steam far better than breast.",{"original":32,"swap":33,"note":34},"Scotch bonnet","One habanero, or half a teaspoon of chilli flakes stirred in at the start","The original uses small local piment. Any fruity, floral hot chilli gets you there; heat level is entirely yours to set.",{"original":36,"swap":37,"note":38},"Clay canari","Heavy cast-iron casserole with foil under the lid","The foil is not optional if the lid is not airtight — the whole dish depends on trapping steam that would otherwise escape.",[40,43,46],{"name":41,"description":42},"Kedjenou de pintade","The version made with guinea fowl, considered the proper one for guests. Longer cooking, gamier meat, and a noticeably darker sauce.",{"name":44,"description":45},"Oven kedjenou","Sealed pot into a 160°C oven for 75 minutes instead of the hob, shaken twice. Steadier heat, and no risk of scorching the base.",{"name":47,"description":48},"Kedjenou with aubergine","Small African aubergines tucked in with the chicken, where they soften into the sauce and add a faint bitterness that cuts the richness.",[50],"Attiéké, plain white rice or boiled yam — something absorbent, because the sauce is concentrated and there is not much of it.","Kedjenou improves overnight and keeps 3 days in the fridge in its sauce. Reheat covered over low heat with a tablespoon of water, since the sauce tightens considerably when cold. It freezes well for 2 months — freeze the meat submerged in its liquid so the surface does not dry. Do not reheat uncovered at high heat; the small volume of sauce reduces to nothing in minutes and the chicken goes stringy.",[53,56,59,62,65],{"question":54,"answer":55},"Why is no water added to kedjenou?","Because the chicken, onion and tomato release plenty of their own liquid inside a sealed pot, and that liquid is the whole point. Adding water gives you a thin, ordinary chicken stew instead of the concentrated glossy sauce that defines the dish. If the pot seals properly you will find several centimetres of liquid at the end that you never poured in.",{"question":57,"answer":58},"What does kedjenou mean?","It comes from Baoulé and refers to shaking the pot, which is the cooking instruction built into the name. Rather than stirring with a spoon, the cook lifts the sealed pot and swirls it every ten minutes or so, moving the contents around without letting steam escape or breaking up the meat.",{"question":60,"answer":61},"Can I make kedjenou without a clay pot?","Yes. A heavy cast-iron or enamelled casserole with a tight lid works well, and a sheet of foil crimped under the lid compensates for any gap. Clay gives gentler, more even heat and a slight earthy character, but the sealed environment and the low temperature matter far more than the material.",{"question":63,"answer":64},"How spicy is it supposed to be?","Moderately warm rather than punishing, if the chilli goes in whole and unbroken. Left intact, the pepper perfumes the sauce without releasing much capsaicin, and you can remove it before serving. Split or crush it and the heat rises sharply — Ivorian cooks who want a fiery pot do exactly that, or crush chilli into a separate table sauce.",{"question":66,"answer":67},"Can I use chicken breast?","It is not recommended. There is very little liquid in the pot and no fat to speak of, so lean breast meat turns dry and fibrous over an hour of steaming. Bone-in thighs, drumsticks and wings stay succulent and their bones add body to the sauce. If breast is all you have, add it for only the final 20 minutes.",[69,70,71],"Heavy casserole or clay canari with a tight-fitting lid","Aluminium foil for sealing","Oven gloves for shaking the hot pot",4,20,70,10,"medium",[78],"main",[80,81,82],"gluten-free","dairy-free","halal-friendly",[84,85,86,87],"chicken","tomato","ginger","onion",[89,93,97,100,104,108,112,115,119,123,126,129,132],{"ref":84,"qty":90,"unit":91,"name":92},1.2,"kg","bone-in chicken pieces, skin on (or one guinea fowl, jointed)",{"ref":87,"qty":94,"unit":95,"name":96},2,"piece","onions, cut into thick wedges",{"ref":85,"qty":98,"unit":95,"name":99},5,"ripe tomatoes, quartered",{"ref":86,"qty":101,"unit":102,"name":103},30,"g","fresh ginger, finely grated",{"ref":105,"qty":72,"unit":106,"name":107},"garlic","clove","garlic, crushed",{"ref":109,"qty":110,"unit":95,"name":111},"scotch-bonnet",1,"scotch bonnet chilli, left whole",{"ref":113,"qty":94,"unit":95,"name":114},"bay-leaf","bay leaves",{"ref":116,"qty":94,"unit":117,"name":118},"thyme","tsp","fresh thyme leaves",{"ref":120,"qty":94,"unit":95,"name":121,"optional":122},"eggplant","small aubergines, halved",true,{"qty":110,"unit":95,"name":124,"note":125},"chicken stock cube, crumbled","genuinely standard in Ivorian kitchens; use 1 tsp salt instead if you prefer",{"ref":127,"qty":110,"unit":117,"name":128},"black-pepper","black pepper, coarsely ground",{"qty":130,"unit":117,"name":131},1.5,"fine salt",{"qty":94,"unit":133,"name":134,"note":135,"noScale":122},"tbsp","water","only to stop the base catching before the vegetables release theirs",[137,141,145,148,153,156],{"title":138,"text":139,"timerSeconds":140},"Season the bird","Rub {qty:chicken} of chicken pieces all over with the grated ginger, crushed garlic, salt, black pepper and crumbled stock cube. Leave it for 10 minutes at room temperature — the surface will look wet and glossy as the salt draws moisture out.",600,{"title":142,"text":143,"tip":144},"Pack the pot","Put the onion wedges and half the tomato in the bottom of a heavy casserole, sit the chicken on top in a single crowded layer, and tuck the remaining tomato, the aubergine, bay leaves, thyme and the whole chilli into the gaps. Pour in the two tablespoons of water. Do not brown anything first.","Crowded is correct. A half-empty pot fills with steam that condenses on cold metal instead of staying in the food.",{"title":146,"text":147},"Seal it","Lay a sheet of foil across the pot, press it down over the rim, then set the lid on top and crimp the overhang up around the edge. Tug the lid gently — it should feel gripped rather than loose.",{"title":149,"text":150,"timerSeconds":151,"tip":152},"Steam and shake","Set the pot over the lowest steady heat and cook for 60 minutes. Every 10 minutes, grip both handles and swirl the whole pot flat on the hob for a few seconds. You should hear liquid moving inside within the first quarter hour; if you hear dry rattling instead, your heat is too high.",3600,"Resist opening it to look. Every peek costs steam you cannot put back.",{"title":154,"text":155},"Check and reduce","Uncover: the chicken should be pulling from the bone, the tomato collapsed into a rough orange sauce, and the pot a third full of liquid. If it looks watery, lift the chilli out and boil hard uncovered for 3–4 minutes until the sauce coats a spoon and turns glossy.",{"title":157,"text":158,"timerSeconds":140},"Rest and serve","Take the pot off the heat, replace the lid and leave it for 10 minutes so the juices settle back into the meat. Taste the sauce for salt, then serve straight from the pot with attiéké or rice, spooning liquid over each portion.",{"calories":160,"protein":161,"carbs":162,"fat":163,"fiber":164,"sodium":165,"estimated":122},430,39,11,25,3,890,[167,170,172,174],{"src":168,"alt":169},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fkedjenou\u002Fhero.jpg","Bone-in chicken pieces in a clay pot with collapsed tomato, onion wedges and a whole red chilli",{"src":171,"alt":169},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fkedjenou\u002Fhero-16x9.jpg",{"src":173,"alt":169},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fkedjenou\u002Fhero-4x3.jpg",{"src":175,"alt":169},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fkedjenou\u002Fhero-1x1.jpg",[4,177,178,179,180,181],"ivorian chicken stew","sealed pot cooking","canari","guinea fowl","west african stew","2026-08-20","dishroute-kitchen",{"items":185,"total":75,"page":110,"limit":382,"hasMore":383},[186,212,235,256,275,291,313,320,341,362],{"slug":187,"title":188,"nativeName":189,"countrySlug":8,"region":190,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":191,"cookMinutes":73,"difficulty":192,"course":193,"diet":196,"mainIngredients":200,"images":202,"keywords":206,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},"alloco","Alloco (Ivorian Fried Ripe Plantain)","Alloco","Abidjan",15,"easy",[194,195],"street-food","side",[197,198,80,81,199],"vegan","vegetarian","nut-free",[201,87,85,109],"plantain",[203],{"src":204,"alt":205},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Falloco\u002Fhero.jpg","Golden-brown fried plantain slices piled on a plate with chopped onion, tomato and chilli relish",[187,207,208,209,210,211],"fried plantain","ivorian street food","ripe plantain","plantain snack","abidjan",{"slug":213,"title":214,"nativeName":215,"countrySlug":8,"region":216,"baseServings":217,"prepMinutes":218,"cookMinutes":219,"restMinutes":220,"difficulty":76,"course":221,"diet":222,"mainIngredients":223,"images":225,"keywords":229,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},"attieke","Attiéké (Ivorian Fermented Cassava Couscous)","Attiéké","Lagoon coast around Abidjan",6,60,35,3120,[195],[197,198,80,81,199],[224],"cassava",[226],{"src":227,"alt":228},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fattieke\u002Fhero.jpg","A mound of pale steamed attiéké granules with a fork lifting loose grains from the pile",[213,230,231,232,233,234],"fermented cassava","ivorian side dish","cassava couscous","gluten free starch","west african",{"slug":236,"title":237,"nativeName":238,"countrySlug":8,"region":239,"baseServings":217,"prepMinutes":191,"cookMinutes":73,"difficulty":192,"course":240,"diet":242,"mainIngredients":243,"images":246,"keywords":250,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},"claclo","Claclo (Ivorian Sweet Plantain Fritters)","Claclo","Southern Côte d'Ivoire",[241,194],"snack",[197,198,81,199],[201,244,245],"flour","nutmeg",[247],{"src":248,"alt":249},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fclaclo\u002Fhero.jpg","Golden plantain fritters with ragged crisp edges piled on a rack, one broken open to show a soft middle",[236,251,252,253,254,255],"plantain fritters","ivorian snack","overripe plantain","tatale","west african fritters",{"slug":257,"title":258,"nativeName":259,"countrySlug":8,"region":260,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":261,"difficulty":262,"course":263,"diet":264,"mainIngredients":265,"images":266,"keywords":270,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},"foutou","Foutou Banane (Pounded Plantain and Cassava)","Foutou banane","Southern and central Côte d'Ivoire",40,"hard",[195],[197,198,80,81,199],[201,224],[267],{"src":268,"alt":269},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Ffoutou\u002Fhero.jpg","Two smooth pale balls of pounded plantain and cassava foutou in a bowl beside a dish of sauce",[257,271,272,273,231,274],"foutou banane","pounded plantain","cassava fufu","west african starch",{"slug":276,"title":277,"nativeName":278,"countrySlug":8,"region":190,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":73,"difficulty":192,"course":279,"diet":280,"mainIngredients":282,"images":284,"keywords":288,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},"garba","Garba (Attiéké with Fried Tuna)","Garba",[194,78],[281,80,81,199],"pescatarian",[283,224,87,85],"tuna",[285],{"src":286,"alt":287},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fgarba\u002Fhero.jpg","Browned cubes of fried tuna piled on pale attiéké with sliced onion, tomato wedges and ground chilli",[276,213,289,208,290,232],"fried tuna","abidjan food",{"slug":292,"title":293,"nativeName":294,"countrySlug":8,"region":295,"baseServings":217,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":98,"restMinutes":296,"difficulty":192,"course":297,"diet":299,"mainIngredients":300,"images":303,"keywords":307,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},"gnamankoudji","Gnamankoudji (Ivorian Spiced Ginger Juice)","Gnamankoudji","Nationwide",240,[298],"drink",[197,198,80,81,199],[86,301,302],"pineapple","lemon",[304],{"src":305,"alt":306},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fgnamankoudji\u002Fhero.jpg","A tall glass of cloudy pale yellow ginger juice over ice with pineapple and fresh ginger root beside it",[292,308,309,310,311,312],"ginger juice","ivorian drink","pineapple ginger","west african beverage","raw ginger",{"slug":4,"title":5,"nativeName":6,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":73,"cookMinutes":74,"restMinutes":75,"difficulty":76,"course":314,"diet":315,"mainIngredients":316,"images":317,"keywords":319,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},[78],[80,81,82],[84,85,86,87],[318],{"src":168,"alt":169},[4,177,178,179,180,181],{"slug":321,"title":322,"nativeName":323,"countrySlug":8,"region":295,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":163,"cookMinutes":324,"difficulty":76,"course":325,"diet":326,"mainIngredients":327,"images":330,"keywords":334,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},"ivorian-sauce-arachide","Sauce Arachide (Ivorian Groundnut Stew)","Sauce arachide",75,[78],[80,81,82],[328,329,85,120],"peanut-butter","beef-chuck",[331],{"src":332,"alt":333},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fivorian-sauce-arachide\u002Fhero.jpg","Thick brown groundnut stew with beef cubes and aubergine, served beside a mound of white rice",[335,336,337,338,339,340],"sauce arachide","groundnut stew","peanut stew","ivorian beef stew","west african peanut sauce","maafe",{"slug":342,"title":343,"nativeName":344,"countrySlug":8,"region":239,"baseServings":72,"prepMinutes":191,"cookMinutes":219,"difficulty":192,"course":345,"diet":348,"mainIngredients":349,"images":351,"keywords":355,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},"sauce-claire","Sauce Claire (Light Aubergine and Okra Broth)","Sauce claire",[346,347],"soup","sauce",[281,80,81,199],[120,350,85,87],"okra",[352],{"src":353,"alt":354},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsauce-claire\u002Fhero.jpg","A thin cloudy broth in a bowl with pieces of okra, crushed aubergine and flakes of smoked fish",[356,357,358,359,360,361],"sauce claire","okra broth","aubergine sauce","ivorian soup","smoked fish stew","garden egg",{"slug":363,"title":364,"nativeName":365,"countrySlug":8,"region":9,"baseServings":217,"prepMinutes":101,"cookMinutes":366,"difficulty":76,"course":367,"diet":368,"mainIngredients":369,"images":371,"keywords":375,"publishedAt":182,"updatedAt":182,"authorSlug":183},"sauce-graine","Sauce Graine (Ivorian Palm Nut Stew)","Sauce graine",85,[78],[80,81],[329,370,350,120],"crab",[372],{"src":373,"alt":374},"\u002Fimages\u002Frecipes\u002Fsauce-graine\u002Fhero.jpg","Deep orange palm nut stew in a pot with beef chunks, crab halves and okra, oil pooling on the surface",[376,377,378,379,380,381],"sauce graine","palm nut stew","ivorian sauce","palm nut soup","crab stew","west african cooking",24,false,1787360054167]