Galinha à africana facts for kids

African chicken (traditional Chinese: 非洲雞; simplified Chinese: 非洲鸡), also known as galinha à africana, is a super tasty chicken dish from Macau. Macau is a special city in Asia that used to be a colony of Portugal.

African Chicken: A Taste of Macau

African chicken is a popular dish in Macanese cuisine. It features chicken that is either grilled or roasted until it's perfectly cooked. What makes it unique is the special sauce it's covered in.

What Makes African Chicken Special?

The chicken is coated with a spicy sauce called piri piri sauce. This sauce is known for its fiery kick! Sometimes, the sauce also includes other yummy ingredients from Asia. Many people think African chicken is one of the most famous dishes from Macau. It's often seen as a special version of regular piri piri chicken.

The Story Behind the Dish

There are many interesting stories about how African chicken first came to be. All these stories agree that the dish is linked to Macau's past as a Portuguese colony.

One idea is that a local chef named Américo Ângelo created it. In the 1940s, he experimented with spices he found during a trip to Portugal's colonies in Africa. He brought these spices back and used them to make this new chicken dish.

Another story says that the recipe has been passed down through Portuguese families in Macau for hundreds of years. This means it's a very old and traditional dish.

A third theory suggests that Portuguese Army officers brought the recipe to Macau. These officers had served in African colonies. After a big change in Portugal called the Carnation Revolution, some of them retired and stayed in Macau. They opened cafés and served the foods they had enjoyed during their time in Africa, including this special chicken.