Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Poulet Nyembwe
Gabon's national dish: chicken simmered in a rich, tangy sauce of palm-nut pulp with chili and greens.
Gabonese · easy · serves 6
prep 20 min · cook 60 min
~561 cal · 60g protein · 11g carbs · 30g fat · 4g fiber · 3g sugars · 15g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Poulet nyembwe is the national dish of Gabon, chicken simmered in a rich, tangy sauce made from the pulp of the , the same fruit that yields red , but here pressed into a thick, savory base with a distinctive sour-earthy depth. It is Central African cooking at its most emblematic, built around a fruit that defines the region's flavor.
The nyembwe (palm butter) sauce is unlike anything outside equatorial Africa: silky, brick-colored, and faintly acidic, it coats the chicken as it cooks with chili and greens. Traditionally the are boiled and pounded to extract the pulp, though tinned palm-nut concentrate now speeds the work.
Served with rice, , or in Libreville and across Gabon, poulet nyembwe is celebration and Sunday food, the dish that appears at family gatherings and national occasions. It is the flavor Gabonese people abroad most associate with home.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
3 lb chicken pieces
2 cups palm-nut pulp (moambe/nyembwe sauce)
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
2 tomato
1
1 bay leaf
1 bunch greens (spinach), to serve
Instructions
1
Brown the chicken (or mushrooms and tofu) with the onion and garlic in a heavy pot.
2
Add the chopped tomato and cook until it breaks down.
3
Stir in the palm-nut pulp with a cup of water, the whole scotch bonnet, and the bay leaf.
4
Simmer gently 40 minutes until the sauce is thick, glossy, and the chicken is tender.
5
Wilt in the greens at the end and serve with rice or plantain.
Libreville tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Libreville. Libreville is a rainforest capital devoted to nyembwe, chicken simmered in the thick orange pulp of the palm nut. Gabonese cooking uses cassava sticks, plantain, smoked river fish, and the wild leaves and nuts of the forest around it.
🗺️
Gabon. Gabonese food is Central African and forest-rich, grilled fish and bushmeat, cassava, plantain, and the palm-nut stew nyembwe. Peppery, palm-oil-laced sauces define a table shaped by rainforest and river.
🌍
Africa. Much of what reads as timeless African cooking is younger than the Atlantic crossings. Maize, cassava, groundnut, chilli and tomato all arrived from the Americas after 1500 and pushed older crops aside; millet, sorghum, teff, yam and fonio are the ones that were already here, and the map still shows the join.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Gabon
Bouillie de BananeA smooth Gabonese plantain porridge, gently sweet and spiced, to start a rainforest morning.
Poisson BraiséWhole fish marinated and grilled over coals, served with fried plantain and a fresh tomato-onion relish, Libreville's classic lunch.
Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas)Bananas rolled in breadcrumbs, fried crisp and baked, then dressed with brown sugar and cool cream, a Gabon classic.
Browse all Gabon recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Pot or saucepan.
Storing it: Stews and braises keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated and often taste better the next day. Reheat gently, adding a splash of water if it has thickened.
Make it a Gabon meal
Bananes au Four Croustillantes (Crisp Baked Bananas)Dessert
Poisson BraiséLunch
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AmiwoBenin
Burmese Chicken CurryMyanmar
Poulet à la MoambeRepublic of the Congo
Seco de Pollo (Chicken Stew)Ecuador
Fijian Chicken CurryFiji
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Frequently asked questions
What is Poulet Nyembwe?
Gabon's national dish: chicken simmered in a rich, tangy sauce of palm-nut pulp with chili and greens.
Where does Poulet Nyembwe come from?
Poulet Nyembwe is a Gabonese dish from Libreville, Gabon.
Can Poulet Nyembwe be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Poulet Nyembwe recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Poulet Nyembwe safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Poulet Nyembwe take to make?
About 80 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 60 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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