Betty's 'Kenyan Chicken, Rice and Vegetables'

For us people from HK, we have the Thermos cooker. It's a must for most Cantonese people, especially living away from home. This is because we LOVE soup. Not the thick kind, but the type that is more like a clear broth. We add lots of random things that are good for you in some way or other (there are different things for every season, illness or situations). The other parts of China will say that we waste electricity because these soups need to be boiled for several hours. This is where the Thermos cooker comes in. All you do it heat the ingredients in the hot for about 10-15 minutes, put the whole thing into the thermos and leave for a few hours. It will carry on cooking due to the heat. It's amazing. Someone gave us one recently and I love it!

In African, there is a cooking basket. It's made of material and foam, in the form of a large basket. Food can be cooked until boiling point, transferred to a box or handleless pan and placed inside the basket. A large cushion is used to cover and trap the heat inside. This is a common way to ensure that there is hot food at the end of a working day for the whole family to enjoy. 

 Luhyia/Nairobi, Kenya

RECIPE for KENYAN CHICKEN, RICE, and VEGETABLES

STEP 1: Fry onions, ginger, garlic and fresh rosemary until soft and dry. Add a little margarine and 2 tins of chopped tomato. Cook until the water and juices have evaporated. Add chopped pieces of chicken. Cook for a while. 

Add a large squeeze of tomato puree and sprinkle with chopped coriander

 

 Cook until boiling and transfer into a container with a lid.

 

Sprinkle with chopped red pepper.

 Cover with foil and the lid.

STEP 2: Soak the rice in water for about 20 minutes. Rinse and wash throughly.

Put double the amount of coconut water to rice in a pan. Use 2 cans of coconut milk and make up the rest of the liquid required with water. 

Add a touch of salt and a drizzle of oil and bring to the boil, take care not to let it boil over. Add the rinsed rice.

 Switch off the heat and cover the pan with foil. Allow to leave for 10-15 minutes. Or put in the cooking basket (there was no room left!)

STEP 3: Chop the vegetables into small pieces.

Melt margarine or oil in a pan, fry chopped onion, celery and tomato puree unil soft. 

Add the chopped vegetables and cook for a short while until heated.

 

Transfer into a handleless pan. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and red pepper.

 Coriander and red pepper are important for garnish and flavour.

 STEP 4: Put the containers into the cooking basket for at least 1 hour to finish off the cooking, or continue to cook on the stove until cooked.

STEP 5: Take out of the basket and serve!

NASIO is the name of Betty's grandma. It is also the name of the trust that was set up in 2003 to support AIDs orphans and HIV vulnerable and destitute children in Western Kenya. It started when Betty's mum found an abandoned baby on her farmland and adopted him as Moses; Betty's brother.   

They are always looking for any kind of support; money, time, energy. To find out more: www.thenasiotrust.org