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Gabonese

Poulet nyembwe

Non-vegetarian

Gabon's national dish: chicken simmered slowly in a velvety palm-nut sauce with onion, garlic and chilli, usually served with rice, cassava or plantains.

Poulet nyembwe is a Gabonese stew, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes and made with chicken pieces, skin-on and red palm oil. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Poulet nyembwe, chicken in orange palm-nut sauce, with cassava sticks
Photo: Mabiala serge / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
15 min
Cook
1 h 10 min
Total
1 h 25 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
570

Ingredients

6 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Season the chicken with the garlic (opens in a new tab), ginger, 1 tsp salt and the pepper (opens in a new tab). Brown in 2 tbsp of the palm oil (opens in a new tab) and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Cook the onions (opens in a new tab) in the remaining palm oil (opens in a new tab) until soft and sweet, without browning.

    • 8 min
    • medium-low heat
    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Return the chicken with the water, chilli and remaining salt. Cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is very tender and the sauce has thickened.

    • 40 min
    • low heat

    Food safety: Chicken should reach 74 °C at the thickest part.

    A curry simmering in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Bachir Mamud on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Add the okra (opens in a new tab) for the last 10 minutes if using. Remove the chilli (or burst it for more heat) and serve with rice.

    • 10 min
    • low heat
    A finished dish being plated
    How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Gabon · Well documentedNyembwe is the Gabonese name for palm-nut sauce; similar dishes exist across Central Africa.Also popular in Republic of the Congo, CameroonMore food from Gabon
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Stews & braises · Main courses
Cooking method
Braised, Simmered
Taste
rich, savoury, earthy, spicy (chilli heat)
Diet
No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein
Without the optional extras: Whole-food focused, Paleo-styleWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Festive & celebration · Make-ahead
Cook more with
Chicken pieces, skin-on · Red palm oil · Onion · Garlic · Fresh red chilli
Techniques
Simmering · Braising

Allergens

None of the 14 major allergens appear in the listed ingredients.

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

570 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 356 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 27%
  • Carbohydrate 3%
  • Fat 70%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy570 kcal160 kcal
Protein37.8 g10.6 g
Carbohydrate4.5 g1.3 g
Net carbohydrate3.8 g1.1 g
Sugars1.6 g0.5 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre0.7 g0.2 g
Fat43.8 g12.3 g
Saturated fat15.4 g4.3 g
Trans fat0.2 g0.1 g
Cholesterol150 mg42 mg
Sodium727 mg204 mg
Salt equivalent1.8 g0.5 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
448 mg
Calcium
47 mg
Iron
2 mg
Magnesium
47 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
83 µg
Vitamin C
8 mg
Vitamin D
0.4 µg
Vitamin B12
0.6 µg
Folate (DFE)
19 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: fresh ginger, okra, long-grain white rice.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Low, slow simmering lets the palm sauce turn velvety; boiling hard makes it oily.

Common mistakes

  • Browning the onions — they should cook gently until sweet so the palm sauce stays clean-tasting.

Serve with

  • Serve with rice, boiled cassava, bâtons de manioc or plantains, and sautéed cassava leaves.

Storage

  • Keeps 3 days refrigerated; freezes well.

Reheating

  • Reheat gently, covered.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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