Portuguese cuisine is a mix of indigenous European, African, and Asian foods and spices. A traditional dish is cabidela, made with chicken or rabbit, onions, garlic, and a lightly flavored sauce. The dish can be served with white rice and has variations that include pork or duck and Indian-inspired spices. Bone-in meat is preferred for its flavor and moisture. The dish is cooked on low heat until fully cooked through. Modern versions use liquids other than animal blood for the sauce.
Portugal’s cuisine is eclectic and draws inspiration from native ingredients from many other countries. This is the result of various Portuguese explorers bringing foods from all over the world starting around the seventeenth century. Common ingredients in Portuguese dishes include indigenous European, African, and Asian foods and spices, such as onions, garlic, rice, olives, cinnamon, and curry. A traditional Portuguese dish is cabidela, which is chicken or rabbit that is browned in oil and served in a lightly flavored sauce. Although traditional recipes for the dish often called for hanging a freshly butchered chicken or rabbit upside down and using the animal’s drained blood as a base for a sauce, more modern versions of the recipe may use other liquids instead.
The main ingredient in cabidela tends to be a whole chicken or rabbit that is cut into chunks with the bones intact. Boneless pieces of meat aren’t used as often because they generally don’t have as much flavor and moisture as bone-in pieces. Besides chicken or rabbit, other ingredients that can be used in the dish include onions, garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves or peppers. Chicken stock, wine, or water can be substituted for traditional animal blood as liquids for making the sauce.
Preparing cabidela typically begins with cooking pieces of chicken or rabbit in oil on a stovetop until the outsides are lightly browned, but the insides are not yet fully cooked through. The inside of the chicken or rabbit will finish cooking in the liquid, but browning adds a richer flavor than cooking in liquid alone. If onions, garlic, or other flavoring agents are used, the chicken or rabbit will be browned and removed from the pan, then the flavoring agents will usually be cooked in the oil; this is due to the longer cooking time required for chicken or rabbit. Just enough of your preferred liquid ingredients are then added to the pot to completely cover all ingredients. The dish is then covered with a lid to trap the steam and add moisture to the dish, and cooked at a low temperature until the ingredients are fully cooked through.
There are variations to the traditional dish. Cabidela is also commonly served over white rice, or the rice may be added to the pot while the other ingredients cook in the liquid. This variation is known as arroz de cabidela. Other variations on the dish include substituting pork or duck for chicken or rabbit. To impart a different flavor, some recipes may call for the use of curry or cinnamon to impart an Indian-inspired taste.
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