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in Recipes

Recipe: Rooibos-infused hardbody chicken

by Noluthando Ngcakani
2nd September 2021
rooibos hardbody chicken recipe

'Umleqwa' is isiXhosa for 'road runner' chicken – a free-range bird that has spent its life foraging in gardens, fields and streets. Photo: Supplied/Health For Mzansi

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What better way to usher in Heritage Month than with some hardbody chicken? Infused with rooibos, nogal?

We are salivating at the thought of chef Zingisa Memela’s recipe.

Umleqwa or hardbody chicken is a staple in the homes of many South Africans, and Memela adds a simple yet oh-so-South African element, rooibos, to her recipe.

ALSO READ: Meet the TikToker who eats out for the greater good

INGREDIENTS

1 hardbody chicken, plucked and cleaned

1litre boiling water

1½ chicken stock cube

1 onion, chopped

Bunch of spring onion, chopped

1 green onion, chopped

3 rooibos teabags

METHOD

  1. In a heavy-based pot, place your chicken. Add half the boiling water and stock cube. Simmer until there is very little water remaining.
  2. Brew rooibos tea with the remaining water and place aside.
  3. Add chopped onion and spring onion to the chicken.
  4. Gradually add brewed rooibos and simmer for 2 hours.
  5. Replenish rooibos water whenever the liquid reduces.
  6. Add chopped green onion and continue to cook for about 1 hour until your chicken is soft.
  7. Reduce and thicken the remaining liquid into a gravy to be served with the chicken. 

ALSO READ: Meet the TikToker who eats out for the greater good

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Noluthando Ngcakani

With roots in the Northern Cape, this Kimberley Diamond has had a passion for telling human interest stories since she could speak her first words. A foodie by heart, she began her journalistic career as an intern at the SABC where she discovered her love for telling agricultural, community and nature related stories. Not a stranger to a challenge Ngcakani will go above and beyond to tell your truth.

Tags: heritage monthumleqwaZingisa Memela
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