Good food doesn’t have to be complicated. This recipe is a perfect example of that philosophy, offering a different take on traditional recipes using Berbere. It's especially great when you want something bolder than the standard honey garlic chicken, because we use honey for a sweet and spicy combo flavor creating a fusion with a twist. Plus, it’s the ultimate one pot meal perfect for a weeknight dinner or meal prepping!
A while back, we stopped for lunch at Thackeray and had a meal that totally blew us away. After our food coma faded, we reached out to Jon and Micah, to see if they’d share some of their secrets. They happily obliged, and we are happy to present the recipes for their fried chicken and side slaw, featuring Berbere and Israeli Za’atar to great success.
Sink your teeth into this crispy, juicy fried chicken prepared by chef Marcus Samuelsson. The marinade of buttermilk and spices creates a perfectly balanced tangy and savory taste that will have you licking your fingers.
This is a traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean spice mix that is a staple in these areas. The most intriguing part of this spice mix for me is the unique chili flavor. It’s both parts earthy and fruity in nature. The more I try and describe it, the more I feel like I’m just rambling. First up, one thing you need to know about berbere spice is the different mixes vary just like curry powders.
The flavor varies, but also the amount of heat. So depending on what you have available proceed with caution! The one I have is lightly warm if you just taste it plain, and I feel like it has a good balance for whatever you want to make. So I wanted to leave you a link to the one I buy. I actually own every single spice mix they make, and they’re all fantastic if you feel like you really want to branch out and stock up, if you make an order. I hope you’ll enjoy using Ethiopian Berbere spice mix as much as we have.
Read also: Washington D.C. Ethiopian Cuisine
Devoted foodies and restaurant newbies love Foobooz. Welcome to Just One Dish, a Foobooz series where we write about an outstanding item on a Philly restaurant’s menu - the story behind the dish, how it’s made, and why you should be going out of your way to eat it.
Key Ingredients
- Garlic - Use fresh garlic to help the garlicky flavor stand out more.
- Berbere Spice: This is a traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean spice mix that is a staple in these areas.
- Wine Alternative - Dry white wines add a nice acidity to the sauce. If you don’t have wine on hand, use chicken broth and juice from half a lime. This is a great substitute for when it comes to the acidity you need to balance and brighten the flavors.
Pro Tip - The heat levels can vary with different brands of spice mixtures.
At Doro Bet, the crispy, lemon-turmeric fried chicken makes a rare case for choosing mild over spicy. Citrus-steeped, peppery, and earthy from turmeric, this chicken isn’t so dissimilar from a Lemonhead sucker candy that found its way through a seasoning carwash. Despite only being fried once, its skin stays as craggly and crisp as twice-fried Korean fried chicken, but with a totally different seasoning base.
Once you eat a half or whole bird at the new West Philly (mostly takeout) spot on Baltimore Avenue, you’ll have a hard time returning to any fried chicken lacking Mebruka Kane and Hayat Ali’s Ethiopian spices.
The business partners, who also happen to be the sisters who operate Salam Cafe and Alif Brew, opened Doro Bet in the fall of 2022 showcasing two types of Ethiopian fried chicken: the aforementioned lemon-turmeric version and a spicier, awaze-drenched option.
Read also: Fusion Fried Chicken
No copycats of these dishes exist elsewhere in Philly (or pretty much anywhere in the country save for a new spot in D.C.). Kane came up with the concept in her home kitchen during the pandemic.
“It’s my kids’ fault,” Kane says. “They’re eight and six, and their tastes have changed. All they want to do is just eat chicken.”
During lockdown, Kane and her husband fell into the habit of making fried chicken at home to satisfy her kids’ cravings for Chick-fil-A and Popeyes. It was then that Kane realized her kids’ fast-food-style, American fried chicken was missing something: “I like to put Ethiopian spices on everything. I told my husband, ‘Imagine an Ethiopian fried chicken. Like if I can put awaze on this, it would taste so much better.’”
Kane decided to marinate the chicken in her family’s berbere paste, sourced from a sister in Ethiopia and prepared according to a recipe that’s been passed down on her mother’s side for at least three generations.
According to Kane, most Ethiopian households have their own distinct methods of making berbere: “Some people put like 20 different things in it. Some people do two or three.”
Read also: Ethiopian Cuisine: Philadelphia Guide
Her family’s berbere incorporates cumin, garlic, ginger, black cardamom, fenugreek and rue, plus red chili peppers dried in the sun for days that give the spice mixture a sharp smokiness with a fruity aftertaste.
As Kane expected, the awaze brought the bumped-up flavor she was craving. But, now, the fried chicken was too spicy for the kids.
Kane and her husband schemed an alternative: a milder version made with lemon and black pepper, like a play on lemon-pepper chicken with even more lemon juice and the added warmth and bitterness of turmeric.
The red-hued awaze fried chicken with a side of mac and cheese.
At Doro Bet, you can find that same alicha chicken Kane made for her kids, now finessed for and available to the non-offspring masses.
Kane and the team buy their birds from a halal distributor in Jersey - these arrive generally on the smaller side and they’re already broken-down to save on prep time.
Then, the chicken marinates in salt, turmeric, black pepper, black cardamom, and an undisclosed amount of lemon juice (from taste alone, I’m guessing it’s an obscene amount).
After two days, the bird is ready for a quick skinny dip into buttermilk before being dredged in a mixture of teff flour and tapioca flour. Kane tells me the dredge is key, since it keeps everything that touches Doro Bet’s fryer gluten-free. The addition of tapioca flour also allows the dredge to adhere to the chicken better than a teff-only dredge would.
Once an order comes out of the fryer, the team shakes a final dusting of black pepper, turmeric and lemon zest on top. The result is thin, crackling skin, buttermilk-soaked dark meat inside, and an encore of crystalized salt pops and lemon zings.
The word “alicha” literally translates to “mild,” but don’t confuse mild with bland. The truth is that Doro Bet’s alicha fried chicken is even more memorable than its berbere-spiced counterpart.
Maybe because Philly’s spicy chicken market is well-established, with very good varieties available at Korean fast-casual chains or neighborhood restaurants like Asad’s in the Northeast and Ember & Ash in East Passyunk.
But the star power of Doro Bet’s alicha version has nothing to do with spice (or a lack thereof), and everything to do with the balance of tartness and fat. A combination so striking it’ll make you think twice before automatically opting for spicy chicken the next time you see it listed on a menu.
Kane admits she wants every meal in her path to pack ample heat: “I’m that person who walks around with hot sauce in her purse, but [the alicha version] made me realize that not everything needs to be hot and spicy for it to be good. Like if it’s well-seasoned and well-prepared, it can be good.
Ethiopian Fried Chicken
Tips for Crispy Results
- Pat the chicken dry before adding seasoning. Use a paper towel to blot the skin.
- Use a heavy skillet.
- Don’t overcrowd the pan. If the pieces of meat are too close, they’ll steam instead of sear.
- Finish in the oven. After searing, let the oven work its magic.
- Crispier Results Pro Tip - After it’s cooked through, cook it under the broiler for 2-3 minutes at the end. Let it rest.
Cooking Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Score the skinless side of the meat by slicing slits into the thighs using a knife.
- Season each side of the poultry with the salt, pepper and Ethiopian seasoning.
- In a small bowl mix together the garlic, wine, honey, and remaining Ethiopian seasoning. Set aside.
- Heat a cast iron pan or oven safe pan on the stove top using medium high heat.
- Once pan is hot, add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan.
- Place meat skin side down in the cooking vessel.
- Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes or until it gets a nice golden brown.
- Once browned, turn the pieces over in the pan.
- Turn the stove top heat off.
- Add sauce mixture to the pan.
- If using an oven safe pan, using oven mitts, place the pan in the oven.
- If you don't have an oven safe pan, put all the ingredients in a baking dish with the skin side up.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees when a food thermometer is placed in the thickest part of the meat.
- Remove pan from oven using oven mitts and serve.
Searing - Next, heat an oven safe skillet over medium high heat. The pan is hot enough if you hear a sizzling sound when adding a drizzle of olive oil to the pan. This is the key to getting that golden crispy skin. Now add the pieces of meat to the pan skin side down.
Sauce - After seasoning the meat, make the sauce.
Roast - Once you add the sauce, place the pan in the preheated oven cooking until the chicken has fully cooked through. One of the best parts is the golden crispy skin!
Can I...?
- Can I use different cuts of chicken? Yes you can use other cuts such as chicken breast. I only recommend using the stovetop to cook breasts to prevent overcooking in the oven. Sear the chicken breast and then cook them for six to eight minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
- How do I make the sauce thicker? Add a mixture of a teaspoon or two of cornstarch and water to the sauce.
- Can I make the chicken in the oven without using the skillet? Yes, the pieces of meat can be made entirely in the oven to save even more time. Cook the sauce in a small sauce pan on the stove top and set aside.
How To Make Spicy Ethiopian Chicken Stew: Doro Wat
Storing and Reheating
- Storing Leftovers - Leftovers last for 3-4 days in an airtight container in the fridge and can be frozen for up to 3 months in freezer safe bags. When freezing, freeze the sauce separately in ice cube trays to reserve the sauce as much as possible when reheating.
- Reheating Tips For Crispy Skin - The secret is to use the oven and not the microwave. Place the leftovers on a baking sheet, warm at 375 degrees for about 10 - 15 minutes or until heated through. This helps to retain the crispiness.
Every recipe we make over here in our little corner of the internet is designed to be packed with flavor and is made with love. I’m sure this will become a favorite in your home. If you’re still craving something sweet and spicy, these wings heat the spot too. ♥♥♥ Please rate this recipe and leave a comment below to let me know if you enjoyed it.
| Nutrient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Calories | (Please note that I am not a nutritionist, and the nutritional information is an estimate only.) |
| Fat | (Please note that I am not a nutritionist, and the nutritional information is an estimate only.) |
| Protein | (Please note that I am not a nutritionist, and the nutritional information is an estimate only.) |
If you do make this stir fry, I hope you’ll leave me a comment/rating below. And I always love hearing from you here.
