Kanak Chicken Bougna in Banana Leaves
A chicken bougna with taro, sweet potato, pumpkin and banana, wrapped in banana leaves and steamed with coconut milk.
Bougna is a Kanak dish from New Caledonia in which meat or fish and tubers are cooked wrapped in banana leaves. This chicken version is prepared as a steaming parcel in a pot: soften the leaves, fill them, and cook until the chicken and tubers are tender.
Method
- 01
Soften the leaves
Wash and dry the banana leaves, trim down the thickest part of the central rib, and briefly warm them over low heat or steam. Overlap the leaves where they are torn.
10 min - 02
Cut and season
Cut the taro, sweet potato and pumpkin into pieces about 4 cm across; slice the banana about 2 cm thick and dice the tomato. Cut the leek into pieces, slice the onion and grate the garlic. Season the chicken with some of the salt and pepper; divide the remaining salt among the tubers.
20 min - 03
Assemble and close the parcel
Pour 800 ml of water into the bottom of a deep pot fitted with a rack. Cross the banana leaves over the rack and place the taro, sweet potato and pumpkin in the centre; top with the chicken, tomato, leek, onion, garlic and banana. Pour 300 ml of coconut milk over everything and fold the leaves into a parcel, leaving a small gap for steam to circulate.
18 min - 04
Steam the parcel
Cover the pot and heat until the water boils and steam escapes around the lid. Lower the heat and maintain gentle, steady steam for 85–90 minutes. Check the water level every 30 minutes; if it is low, add up to 100 ml boiling water down the side without opening the parcel.
90 min - 05
Rest and serve
Turn off the heat and let the covered pot rest for 10 minutes. Open the parcel and check that the thickest part of the chicken reaches at least 75 °C and that the taro and sweet potato are easily pierced with a skewer. Gently warm the remaining 100 ml of coconut milk and spoon it over the bougna; finish with the lemon or lime.
10 min
Ingredients
Sources and review
Content researched, cross-checked and automatically validated. Sources consulted:
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State: Published after documentary validation; no “Tested” label is shown.