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Chicken a la King

Introduction & method

Is this a dish fit for a King? Well, maybe not a royal king - the original version was developed at a restaurant in New York in 1890 and named after a Mr King, although some versions have this as Keene. It's very simple and quick to make - creamy chicken, mushrooms and peppers.

 Chicken a la King Recipe

Different Versions


It seems there are a couple of slightly different versions of this - one has peas, diced carrots and maybe celery instead of the bell peppers. I'm not doing that here but you can easily work it out if that's your preference. Other versions add about 5 tbsps of sweet sherry.

Prep the Chicken


It's quite common to use pre-cooked leftover chicken for this, but if you don't have any lying around take a couple of skinless boneless chicken breasts and cut them into bite-sized chunks. Put them in a small saucepan and add just enough chicken stock to cover them. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 10-15 minutes until tender. Remove from heat.

Prep the Veggies


Gently clean any dirt off the mushrooms and slice them thinly. Cut the bell peppers into 1cm (about half an inch) squares.

Cook the Chicken a la King


Melt one third of the butter in a frying pan. add the peppers and sauté them for a couple of minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Remove the veggies from the pan. Melt the rest of the butter and stir in an equal amount of flour to make a roux. Cook it for a minute or so, then add small amounts of stock, stirring in each addition until you have a smooth paste. Add the remaining stock, the chicken, the veggies and half of the chopped parsley. Stir well and cook for 5 minutes. Add the white pepper, taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary. Turn off the heat, stir in the cream and serve.

Serve the Chicken a la King


Chicken a la King can be served with rice, pasta or over American biscuits. I served mine with orzo, the tiny pasta that looks like rice. Garnish with the remaining parsley.


The video above is from the Keef Cooks YouTube channel. Click here to see the video recipe of Chicken a la King on YouTube.

 
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Ingredients & Info



 2 skinless chicken breasts
 150 grams chestnut mushrooms
 half a red bell pepper
 half a yellow or orange bell pepper
 250 ml chicken stock
 250 ml double (heavy) cream
 small handful flat leave parsley
 half a tsp ground white pepper
  salt to taste
 75 grams butter
 50 grams flour

UNITS:
Metric
US Customary/Imperial

Serves 2 
Prep time: 5 minutes.
Cooking time: 20 minutes.
Total time: 25 minutes.