Hardbody Chicken · Eastern Cape Stew
Umleqwa
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Umleqwa takes noticeably longer to cook than ordinary chicken because of its tougher bones and muscle, but Eastern Cape cooks consider that extra simmering time essential to developing its flavour.
A free-range, older 'hardbody' chicken — tougher and more flavourful than a supermarket bird — slow-stewed until the deep, gamey meat falls off its stronger bones. It's a favoured pairing for umngqusho at Eastern Cape gatherings and rural eateries.
Why it's made this way: The name comes from the isiXhosa verb 'leqa', to chase, because these free-roaming birds are fast and hard to catch; that same free-ranging life is what gives their meat its distinctively rich flavour.
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