Senegal | Main dish

Chicken Yassa

Senegalese chicken yassa, grilled or browned chicken braised in caramelized onions, lemon, mustard, garlic, chile, and bay leaf.

Country
Senegal
Region
West Africa
Time
205 min
Serves
6
Level
medium
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Recipe overview

What to know before you cook

The onions are the sauce. Give the lemon-mustard marinade time, then cook the onions down until sweet enough to balance the citrus.

What the dish tastes like

Senegalese chicken yassa, grilled or browned chicken braised in caramelized onions, lemon, mustard, garlic, chile, and bay leaf.

When to cook it

Best for Celebrations and gatherings, with a medium cooking level and about 205 minutes total.

What to serve alongside it

White rice, fonio, fried plantain, cucumber salad, or extra chile

Regional lane

Onion, lemon, and peanut table. The sauces and stews that balance sharp onion, citrus, chile, and groundnut richness.

Chef watch-outs
  • Overcooking the greens until the color and texture collapse.
  • Skipping the resting time after grilling.
  • Rushing the base before the raw edge has cooked out.
How you know it is ready
  • Greens should be cooked through but still look alive and glossy.
  • The surface should be deeply colored while the center stays juicy.
  • The aroma should smell rounded rather than raw or sharp.
Pantry lane

broken rice, dried fish, netetou, peanut paste, tamarind

Recipe photos

See the dish before you cook

Each recipe supports one main image and up to four extra prep, serving, or step photos when they are available.

AfroKitchen recipe collection artwork for Chicken Yassa
Chicken Yassa finished dish
Chef board

Build the table around Chicken Yassa

White rice, fonio, fried plantain, cucumber salad, or extra chile

Best route from here

Onion, lemon, and peanut table

Collections to keep cooking
Senegalese Rice and Yassa Table
Servings 6

Scale the dish before you shop, then use the checklist while you cook.

How to cook it

Step-by-step method

Keep the rhythm calm, watch the texture, and adjust seasoning at the end.

Back to Senegal
5 steps 205 min total medium
1
Marinate the chicken
Combine chicken with lemon juice, half the onions, mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.
Overnight marination is best.
Marinate 120:00
2
Grill the chicken
Remove chicken from marinade (reserve it). Grill until golden and slightly charred, about 15 minutes.
Grill chicken 15:00
3
Caramelise the onions
Heat oil. Add all onions and cook on medium-low until deeply caramelised, about 25 minutes.
Low and slow is the key.
Caramelise onions 25:00
4
Combine and simmer
Add grilled chicken, reserved marinade, and whole scotch bonnet. Cover and simmer 20 minutes.
Simmer 20:00
5
Serve
Serve chicken smothered in onion sauce over fluffy white rice.

Every household has small variations. Start here, then adjust seasoning, heat, and serving sides to your kitchen.

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