Hello again! Welcome to the Democratic Republic of the Congo! We decided to make this meal together for Valentines day with some wine (obviously!) Let’s dive back into Africa, we will be here a lot this week!
The second largest country in Africa is home to 250 different languages and 200 unique ethnic groups. DCR’s capital, Kinshasa makes up the second biggest French-speaking country in the world. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is actually named after the Congo river which flows throughout the country. The Congo river is the deepest river in the world reaching depths of 722ft.
The national dish of DCR we prepared is poulet à la moambé or “chicken in palm oil sauce” and it was what we made for a special at home date night for Valentine’s Day. This dish has French cooking influence, but it is dominated by African flavor. There are several variations on this dish, the one we decided on having peanut butter, ginger, tomatoes, and garlic to name a few ingredients. The remainder of the recipe can be found here. We decided to serve the dish with jasmine rice and fried plantains which is fairly common.
This meal was amazing! What a wonderful Valentine’s treat!! We enjoyed this candle lit dinner with traditional African music playing in the background. The ginger really pulled through and tied together the dish. The fried plantains were a great additional and gave a nice crunchy texture. We rated this dish 8/10.
Continuing on this African adventure we head to Mali for another hearty meal!