Tuesday 14 August 2018

Nando's in My Kitchen


It has been a long, long, time since I ate at Nando's. Quite honestly, I did not find Nando's chicken all that special. The flavors did not make an impression on me and I never went back.

But Nando's is still going strong proving that there are many people who enjoy their chicken. I am constantly reminded of Nando's existence every time I go to the supermarket because I see bottles and bottles of Nando's Peri-Peri sauce.



Though I was tempted to grab a bottle, on second thoughts I never did.


So what possessed me to finally succumb to that temptation? Well, somebody cooked Nando's chicken, served with roasted tomatoes and potato wedges. That meal looked like something I would be very happy to eat. That's it. I had to get me a bottle!

This one.


That weekend I asked my partner to take me to the market because after eating chicken from the market, I will never buy chicken from the supermarket again. There is a world of difference in terms of freshness, texture and taste. 


Although I could have used just the peri-peri sauce as marinade, I decided to add on by marinating the chicken the way I did here. The marinade is made with smoked paprika, lemon juice, garlic, ginger and salt. I let the chicken marinate overnight in the fridge.


To roast the chicken, I put a wire rack on the baking tray. I used two chicken legs and two wings. Since wings cook faster, I gave the legs a 10 minute head start.

The oven was set at 200C for 40 minutes and after 20 minutes of roasting, I basted the legs and wings with the bottled peri-peri sauce.


The result? Very nice except that even at "medium" the sauce still packed a powerful punch. I would have bought "mild" had it been available.



I can just imagine what the XX Hot and Extra Hot would be like. Die!

I served this Nando's chicken with roasted sweet potato wedges and a mango tomato salsa. This roasted chicken made for an unforgettable meal not just because it was so good but because it was so spicy hot!


Homemade Nando's Chicken
Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :
- 2 chicken legs and 2 chicken wings
- 2 tbsp smoked paprika
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 inch ginger
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 tsp salt (because the peri-peri sauce is already adequately salty)
- 1 cup Nando's peri-peri sauce

Method :
1. Pound garlic and ginger to form a paste.
2. Mixed the pounded garlic and ginger with the smoked paprika, lemon juice and salt to make the marinade.
3. Put the chicken legs and wings into a freezer bag and pour the marinade into the bag. Use your hand to mix and coat the chicken with the marinade.
4. Marinate for a few hours or overnight in the fridge.
5. Before roasting, bring the chicken out to room temperature.
6. Preheat the oven to 200C.
6. Prepare a line baking tray and place a baking rack over it.
7. Since chicken wings take a shorter time to cook, place the chicken legs on the wire rack first and roast for 10 minutes before adding the wings onto the baking rack.
8. Roast for another 10 minutes and then baste the chicken with the Nando's peri-peri sauce. Do this every 5 minutes or so until chicken is cooked through.

24 comments:

  1. Hahahaha looks like both you and ewew do not need to ever go to eat at Nando's ever ever again. I can only take their mild sauce.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I actually want to drop by Nando's to taste their chicken again. I seriously cannot remember what it was like.

      Delete
  2. Yay, I tempted you to cook Nando's chicken! ^.^ From the colour of your chicken, I can see that it's going to be spicy. I think it's because you used quite a lot (1 cup) of Nando's peri-peri sauce (I can see that more than half the bottle is gone already) and then added more heat with smoked paprika that it became even hotter. I can only take up to mild...but would prefer less hot options like Mango & Lime and Lemon & Herb. I'm sure yours would taste better than Nando's with your own added marination.

    P/S: I'm so glad you finally tried wet market chickens (which I've been telling you for ages in terms of freshness compared to supermarket chickens). Like you, once I ate wet market chickens, I never went back to supermarket ones (I just had an earlier head start than you, like more than 10 years...haha!) :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hah..hah... I am so easily influenced, aren't I? It was really hot and I had stomachache the next day. LOL!

      Yes, I am now a firm believer of market chicken! You are so much wiser than me. I always felt that going to the market is such a hassle. It's still a hassle but I don't mind for the fresh chicken.

      Delete
    2. If going to the wet market is too much of a hassle, I suggest you get lots of chicken on your trip and freeze them. Even frozen market chickens taste better than Aeon's chickens (maybe chickens from more upmarket supermarkets are fresher). Although I have a wet market very near me, I sometimes end up freezing my chicken for up to a month (sometimes even longer) coz I don't cook as often and the chickens I bought end up languishing in the freezer! ;D

      If you think only chickens are fresher from the market, don't get me started on fish...I never buy fish from Aeon (except maybe salmon that I can't find in wet markets).

      Delete
    3. That's a very good idea. Buy more and no need to go market so often. I should buy fish from the market too since you swear by it as I want to eat more fish hee..hee...

      Delete
  3. I usually ordered mild when eat in Nando's. Long time didn't dine there.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too. Must have been more than 10 years.

      Delete
  4. When is PH's Nanod's outlet open for public? I wanna go makan! Hehehe

    ReplyDelete
  5. I seldom buy supermarket chicken unless I really have no choice. Only ate once at Nando and too long to remember the taste. Your roast nando chicken looks very delicious. I wonder how spicy is medium...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Medium is quite spicy. I thought it would be OK for me, but it was too hot. Maybe you can tahan.

      Delete
  6. the chicken doesn't looks fiery hot but it's spicy....I better beware of the 'medium peri peri' sauce....dun play play!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I think I did buy a bottle but I can't remember doing anything with it. Dunno where it is now. LOL!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. LOL! I think you and your missus can handle the heat. Extra hot, no problem!

      Delete
  8. so gorgeous! i can't imagine anyone being able to resist your chicken - the colours, the texture, all seem like perfection! quite inspiring :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, thank you for your generous compliments!

      Delete
  9. Haha, I read Kris's post few days ago and now you are tempted to bake Nando's chicken, LOL I always have Nando's chili sauce in my pantry, I think I should try to bake some too :)
    I never buy fresh chicken from the market (unless my mom help me to buy) :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Now I know that fresh chicken from the market is the best. No more supermarket chicken for me.

      Delete
  10. I find the spicier sauces at Nando's are salty for me. So I usually go for Mango and Lime which is quite delicious. But I don't think they sell the sauce sigh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The bottled sauce also a bit on the salty side. I must go and try the Mango Lime.

      Delete
  11. Your chicken looks amazing :) Will be trying it out soon. Will probably stick to Lemon & Herb though. I too got lazy and found buying chicken from the supermarket was easier but compared to market chicken, it's no where close. I find supermarket chicken mushy and the marination doesn't seep in as fresh chicken does. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I just bought the Lemon and Herb to try. Yes, chicken from the market is amazing. There's no turning back for me hah..hah..

      Delete