The 18 Best Chicken Dishes in the World
No ingredient travels like chicken, and every cuisine has settled on its own version. The Philippines braises it in vinegar and soy, Jamaica smokes it over pimento wood, France drowns it in Burgundy. These are the 18 best chicken dishes in the world, each with an authentic recipe.
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Chicken Adobo
PhilippinesBraised in vinegar, soy and garlic. The vinegar was a preservative before it was a flavour.
Adobo is meat cooked in vinegar and soy sauce with garlic, bay and pepper, and it is less a recipe than a preservation method. Vinegar keeps meat in a tropical climate, and the Spanish name was applied to a technique that predated …
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Jerk Chicken
JamaicaRubbed with scotch bonnet and allspice, smoked over pimento wood. Maroon cooking from the hills.
Discover Jerk Chicken, the fiery pride of Jamaica. This iconic dish takes tender chicken, bathes it in a bold, aromatic marinade and slow-cooks it over smoky coals until the skin turns dark and crackling. With the warmth of …
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Coq au Vin
FranceAn old rooster braised in Burgundy with bacon and mushrooms until it gives in.
Discover Coq au Vin, one of France's most cherished classics. This soul-warming dish gently braises chicken in a rich red wine sauce until the meat turns meltingly tender and the gravy deepens into something truly special. With …
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Karaage
JapanMarinated in soy, ginger and sake, coated in potato starch and fried twice.
Discover Karaage, one of Japan's best-loved bites. This classic of Japanese cooking turns humble chicken into morsels that are wonderfully crisp on the outside and juicy within, all thanks to a fragrant marinade of soy sauce, sake …
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Tandoori Chicken
IndiaYoghurt and spice marinade, cooked at 480°C against the clay wall of a tandoor.
Meet Tandoori Chicken, one of India's most iconic dishes and a true showstopper at any table. Juicy chicken is steeped in a tangy yoghurt marinade laced with warming spices, then grilled until smoky, charred and very tender. …
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Pollo a la Brasa
PeruPeru's charcoal rotisserie chicken, marinated in soy and cumin, served with three sauces.
Discover Pollo a la Brasa, the pride of Peru's kitchens. This juicy roast chicken is prized for its crisp, golden skin and a bold marinade layered with garlic, cumin and warming spices. Traditionally cooked on a vertical …
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Doro Wat
EthiopiaChicken and hard-boiled eggs in a berbere and onion sauce cooked down for hours.
Doro Wat is the dish Ethiopians cook when it matters, and the work is in the onions. Six or more, chopped fine, cooked dry and then in niter kibbeh for the better part of an hour before the chicken appears. Rushing that step …
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Korean Fried Chicken
South KoreaFried twice for a thin, glassy crust, then glazed in gochujang. Beer is compulsory.
Say hello to Korean Fried Chicken, the gloriously crunchy dish that has won hearts well beyond Seoul. With its shatteringly crispy coating and tender, juicy meat inside, it comes in both a mild classic style and a fiery, …
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Shkmeruli
GeorgiaFried chicken finished in milk with an unreasonable quantity of garlic. Georgia does not hold back.
Discover Shkmeruli, one of Georgia's best-loved national dishes. Tender chicken is bathed in a rich, creamy sauce that sings with garlic, a combination that has won over food lovers far beyond the Caucasus. It is unashamedly bold, …
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Poulet Yassa
SenegalChicken marinated in lemon and onion, grilled, then simmered in the marinade.
Meet Poulet Yassa, the tangy, deeply savoury chicken dish that many consider the true taste of Senegal. Tender chicken is marinated in lemon and garlic, then simmered with a mountain of slowly softened onions until the sauce turns …
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Piri Piri Chicken
MozambiqueSpatchcocked, marinated in African bird's eye chilli and grilled. Portugal took it worldwide.
Discover piri-piri chicken, the fiery pride of Mozambique's kitchens. This bright dish takes tender chicken and bathes it in a punchy chilli paste that delivers spicy, tangy and gently smoky notes in every bite. Simple to prepare …
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Pollo en Mole Poblano
MexicoChicken under a sauce of chillies, chocolate, nuts and spices, sometimes thirty ingredients deep.
Meet Pollo en Mole Poblano, Mexico's celebrated national dish and one of the most captivating things you can cook from its kitchen. Tender chicken is bathed in a velvety, deeply savoury sauce built from dark chocolate, smoky …
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Kung Pao Chicken
ChinaDiced chicken with peanuts and Sichuan pepper. Named after a Qing dynasty official.
Discover Kung Pao Chicken, one of China's most celebrated dishes and a true icon of Sichuan cuisine. This fiery stir-fry brings together tender pieces of chicken, crunchy peanuts and the unmistakable tingle of Sichuan pepper for a …
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Khao Man Gai
ThailandPoached chicken over rice cooked in its stock, with a fermented soybean and ginger sauce.
Meet Khao Man Gai, one of Thailand's most comforting plates of food. Tender poached chicken rests on fragrant jasmine rice that has been cooked in the very broth used to gently simmer the bird, while a punchy soy-based sauce and a …
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Ayam Goreng
IndonesiaSimmered in turmeric and lemongrass, then fried. The spice goes in before the oil does.
Say hello to Ayam Goreng, Indonesia's very good take on fried chicken. Pieces of chicken are steeped in a fragrant marinade of turmeric, garlic and lemongrass, then fried until deeply golden and gloriously crisp. The result is a …
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Fesenjan
IranChicken in ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses, cooked until dark and sour-sweet.
Discover Fesenjan, one of the great treasures of Persian cooking and a proud national dish of Iran. This slow-simmered stew builds its character around a velvety sauce of ground walnuts and tangy pomegranate molasses, striking a …
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Southern Fried Chicken
USAButtermilk brine, seasoned flour, cast iron. Its roots are West African and Scottish.
Meet Southern Fried Chicken, one of the great icons of American comfort food. With its golden, shatteringly crisp crust and tender, juicy meat beneath, this dish has won hearts far beyond the American South. The secret lies in a …
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Chicken Paprikás
HungaryChicken in sweet paprika and soured cream, served with nokedli dumplings.
Discover Paprikás Csirke, one of Hungary's most cherished national dishes. Tender pieces of chicken simmer gently in a glowing, richly spiced paprika sauce, finished with a generous swirl of soured cream. It is the kind of …
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