Chicken with Soy and Coconut Rice (Samoan Moa Fa’asaina)

Samoan chicken is called Moa Fa’Asaina. In Samoa they cook in an uma, an earth oven. It can be easily replicated in a dutch oven which is how I made this Samoan chicken. It was served over a simple coconut rice which I also highly recommend.

Chicken:
2 lbs chicken pieces, skin-on, bone-on
1 cup dark soy sauce
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 onion, sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1 Tbsp. ginger, peeled and minced
sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
2 Tbsp. tapioca starch

Garnish:
2 green onions, chopped
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds roasted

Rice:
2 cups white rice, cooked
1 cup coconut milk
pinch sea salt

For the Chicken:
Season the chicken well with salt and pepper.

Brown the chicken on all sides in a large Dutch oven.

Remove the chicken to a plate and drain all but a Tbsp. or so of grease from the dutch oven.

Sauté the onions and garlic and ginger in the Dutch oven, scraping up any bits from the chicken.

Return the chicken to the pan and add the soy sauce and vinegar, then add enough water to cover the chicken.

Continue to cook for another 20 minutes or so or until the chicken is cooked through.
Remove the chicken from the pan.

To thicken the sauce, take 2 Tbsp. of tapioca starch in a bowl with just a touch of cold water to form a thick paste, Whisk this into the sauce.

Reduce the heat as the sauce begins to thicken and return the chicken to the sauce.

For the Rice:
Into the warm cooked rice, add the coconut milk and a pinch of salt. You should have enough to cover the rice. Allow the rice absorb the coconut milk.

Put a scoop of rice in a bowl then top with a couple pieces of chicken and sauce.

Garnish with onions and sesame seed, Serve warm.