Senegalese Yassa Chicken with Onions
Yassa chicken is built around a simple but powerful combination: sharp lemon, mustard, garlic, chile, and a large amount of onions cooked until soft and sweet. The marinade seasons the chicken deeply, then becomes the base of a glossy pan sauce that tastes tangy, savory, and gently sweet without needing many ingredients.
Browning the chicken before simmering gives the finished dish more depth, while the onions cook down slowly enough to keep some texture. The goal is not a smooth sauce, but tender chicken nestled in saucy onions that still taste like the center of the recipe.
Serve yassa chicken with steamed white rice so the lemony onion sauce has somewhere to land. A little extra mustard at the end sharpens the flavor, and a fresh squeeze of lemon keeps the dish bright after the long simmer.
Nutrition (per serving)
Directions
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1
Pat the chicken dry and place it in a large bowl with the sliced onions, lemon juice, mustard, 1 tablespoon oil, garlic, ginger, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper.
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2
Turn everything well so the onions and chicken are coated, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
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3
Lift the chicken from the marinade, letting the onions and liquid drain back into the bowl. Scrape off any onion pieces clinging to the chicken so they do not burn while browning.
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4
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a wide Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in batches for 4 to 5 minutes per side, then transfer it to a plate.
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5
Add the marinated onions and bay leaves to the pot. Cook over medium heat for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring often, until the onions soften, lose their raw bite, and begin to turn golden at the edges.
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6
Pour in the reserved marinade liquid and chicken broth, scraping the bottom of the pot. Nestle the browned chicken and the whole chile into the onions.
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7
Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender and reaches 165°F near the bone.
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8
Uncover and simmer for 5 to 8 minutes more if the sauce looks thin. Remove the whole chile for milder heat, or pierce it into the sauce for a hotter dish.
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9
Taste and adjust with a little more lemon juice, mustard, salt, or pepper. Serve the chicken and onions over steamed white rice.
Ingredients
- bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks:3 lb
- yellow onions, thinly sliced:2 1/2 lb
- fresh lemon juice:1/2 cup
- Dijon mustard:1/4 cup
- neutral oil:3 tbsp
- garlic cloves, minced:4
- fresh ginger, grated:1 tbsp
- bay leaves:2
- low-sodium chicken broth:1 cup
- habanero or Scotch bonnet chile, left whole:1
- kosher salt:1 1/2 tsp
- black pepper:1/2 tsp
- steamed white rice, for serving:4 cups
Tips & Notes
- For the best flavor, marinate the chicken overnight and stir the onions once or twice if you can.
- Keep the chile whole during simmering for aroma without aggressive heat; cutting it open will make the sauce much spicier.
- If the onions begin to stick before they soften, add a splash of broth and keep stirring until they release.
