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1
Brown the Chicken
10 Mins
Medium-high heat, ~200°C (400°F)
Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large deep pan over medium-high heat and brown the thighs skin-side down for 4 to 5 minutes until golden, then turn and brown the other side for 3 minutes. Lift them out and set aside.
Brown in batches if the pan is crowded — chicken that steams instead of searing never gets the golden skin that flavours the sauce.
Done when: Deep golden chicken thighs with crisp, browned skin.
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2
Build the Paprika Sauce
10 Mins
Medium heat, ~175°C (350°F), then off the heat for the paprika
Lower the heat and fry the diced onion in the same pan for 5 minutes until soft and golden. Take the pan off the heat, sprinkle in the paprika and stir hard for 30 seconds until the onions turn deep red. Add the tomato, pepper and garlic, pour in the stock, and stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom.
Take the pan off the heat before the paprika goes in — paprika burns in seconds over direct heat and turns bitter.
Done when: A deep red, fragrant sauce with the vegetables softening in it.
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3
Braise the Chicken
30 Mins
Gentle simmer, ~95°C (200°F)
Return the chicken to the pan, nestling the pieces into the sauce. Cover and simmer gently for 25 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is tender all the way through and the thickest piece reads at least 74°C (165°F) on a food thermometer — the safe minimum for chicken. Whisk the 30 g of flour with a little cold water and stir it into the sauce to thicken it slightly.
Keep the sauce at a lazy bubble — hard boiling tightens the chicken and can split the sauce later.
Done when: Tender chicken in a thick, deep red sauce that coats a spoon.
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4
Cook the Galuska
10 Mins
Boiling water, 100°C (212°F)
While the chicken braises, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Drop the galuska batter through a spaetzle maker or the large holes of a colander in small batches, a spoonful at a time. The dumplings sink, then rise after about 2 minutes — lift them out with a slotted spoon into a warm bowl and toss with a little butter or oil so they do not stick.
Do not drop all the batter at once or the dumplings clump together — small batches, and the water must be at a full rolling boil.
Done when: Small, soft dumplings that float, plump and pale, and hold their shape when lifted.
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5
Finish with Sour Cream & Serve
5 Mins
Off the heat; serve hot, ~70°C (158°F)
Take the pan off the heat and let it stand for 2 minutes. Stir a spoonful of the hot sauce into the sour cream to warm it, then stir the sour cream into the pan until the sauce turns silky and pale orange. Taste for salt and pepper. Serve the chicken and sauce over the warm galuska, with pickled peppers on the side.
Never boil the sauce after the sour cream goes in — boiling splits it into grainy curds and oil.
Done when: A silky, pale orange sauce that coats the chicken and the dumplings without a single curd.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the chicken paprikash hot over a mound of warm galuska, spoon the silky paprika sauce over everything, and put pickled peppers on the table.
Hungary
2h 15m
France
Vietnam