Trinidadian Chicken Stew Recipes

TRINIDAD STEWED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Prep: Wash chicken with the juice of one lemon, lime or vinegar and water, rubbing to remove slime, also remove excess skin, fat. Wash a second time with plain water. Drain well. Wash and chop scallions, tomatoes, peel and chop onion, grate ginger and garlic, cut pimento or habanero if using. Alternately, chicken can be seasoned ahead of time with scallion, onion, garlic, tomato(optional), ginger(optional), thyme, pimento pepper, hot pepper-if using, salt and black pepper, ketchup.
• In a large pot over medium heat, add oil. When the oil is hot but not smoking, add sugar and allow it to bubble, froth, expand and darken. Do not allow it to smoke and get black. This is the same technique I used with the pelau and stewed lamb.
• Add chicken and listen to it sing in the pot! Immediately raise the heat to high and stir continuously to coat with the brown sugar, about 2 minutes.
• If chicken was not pre-seasoned, now add scallion, onion, garlic, tomato(optional), ginger(optional), thyme, pimento pepper, hot pepper-if using, salt and black pepper, ketchup and cook 1-2 minutes more while stirring. Also add potatoes and cooked peas now if using.
• Cook for 15-20 minutes, covered, over medium high heat (chicken will release it's juices), stirring occasionally, every 5 minutes, until liquid has evaporated.
• After the liquid has evaporated, continue to cook for a few seconds to allow flavours to develop, stirring continuously to prevent sticking.
• Add one cup of water, more if you like lots of "sauce". Cover and cook an additional 10-15 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and tender (but not shredding), turning gently once or twice, and the sauce has thickened to your desired consistency.
• Taste and add more salt and pepper if required. For this dish, I added a total of two teaspoons Himalayan salt but amounts may vary depending on the type of salt you use.
• Serve hot preferably over rice with stewed beans, callaloo or dhal and your favorite salad. If you feel like it add some fried plantains, wash it down with a cold glass of mauby, sorrel or home-made lemonade.

TRINIDAD STEWED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Prepare Green seasoning marinade:.
• Put all the seasoning ingredients into your blender or food processor and process dry or with a minimum amount of water. Store in the fridge, in a glass jar, for up to a week. Or add some more water and some vinegar if you want to keep it longer. Sorry I can't offer definite measurements. I usually just eyeball this.
• Trinidadians use this all purpose mix to season just about any kind of meat. It keeps well in the fridge and we usually make a fresh batch of this once a week.
• Season chicken with Angustora bitters, green seasoning, salt and black pepper and leave to marinate in the fridge for 1/2 hour or longer if you have the time.
• Heat oil in a heavy pot, add sugar and garlic and let caramelize. Stir once or twice so that the garlic doesn't burn.
• The sugar will go from the colour of peanut butter to a bubbling, dark, reddish brown. When the outer edges start to turn an even darker brown , add all the chicken to the pot.
• Do not stir. Let the water generated by the addtion of the chicken dry out some and give chicken a chance to caramelize. Turn chicken and let rest again for the other side to caramelize. Reapeat this process, turning chicken occasionally so that it browns on all sides. If the sauce at this point looks a little bit gooey you are on the right track. You may need to add a few tablespoons of water during this process if it seems that the sauce is drying out too quickly but keep it at this thickened stage until the chicken is brown. If your sauce is too thin and watery the chicken will not caramelize.
• TIP: It takes a while for the sugar to get to the dark colour you are looking for. Do not walk away while browning the sugar. Once brown you'd be surprised how quickly it goes to black leaving you with a bitter charred mess that dries hard and ruins your pot and your spoon:=)No this never happened to me before LOL.
• Don't rush this stage. Let the liquid dry out, turning chicken occasionally so that it browns on all sides. If water is added too soon the brown colour will wash right off. The chicken will be too pale.
• When chicken is nice and brown, add the Worcestershire sauce, the Maggi cube and 2 cups cup or more of water to cover the chicken or two cups of broth.
• Add hot pepper sauce; cover pot and bring to a boil. Remove the pot cover part of the way as you want the liquid to start drying up but not so quickly that the chicken doesn't have time to cook. If liquid dries out too quickly you can always add more water.
• Cook on medium heat until chicken is tender.
• Once the chicken is cooked, let liquid dry out until the sauce in the pot is no longer watery.
• Serve with hot rice, salad or vegetables.
• Variations: You can add a 1/4 cup pumpkin cut in small cubes after you brown the chicken if you want a slightly thicker sauce.

TRINIDADIAN STEW CHICKEN

Steps:

• To prepare:.
• Place about 1/4 cup of oil in a large pot, and place on high heat.
• Add 1/4 cup of brown sugar to the oil, spreading it evenly in the oil without mixing.
• Leave on high heat until the sugar starts to turn dark brown, almost black, and starts to bubble. Then you're ready to add the chicken. Depending on your stove, it will only take a couple of minutes for this to occur.
• SLOWLY add the chicken pieces to the oil, one by one. WARNING: THE OIL WILL SPATTER, so be careful!
• Once you've got all the pieces in, let the sugar "brown" your chicken, stirring occasionally, to ensure that the pieces don't stick.
• After the chicken is browned, add the remaining seasoning to the pot, turn the heat to medium.
• Add one cup of water to the mixture, and stir.
• Add coconut milk to the mixture.
• Crumble bouillon cube over the entire mixture, and stir, and add salt to taste. Cover the pot, and let simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 30 minutes You'll want to stir the pot occasionally, and if it looks like your liquid is disappearing (though it shouldn't), feel free to add a bit more water.
• Once the chicken is cooked, your stew is ready.

TRINIDAD STEWED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Place chicken on a plate. Sprinkle the green onion, cilantro, garlic, onion, salt and pepper over it. Cover, and marinate for 30 minutes.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a deep pot over medium heat. Stir in the sugar, and cook until the sugar has melted into a nice golden brown syrup. Add the chicken pieces, and brown quickly while turning continuously. Cover the pot, and let it cook for 2 minutes.
• Pour in 1 cup of water, coconut milk and pepper flakes. Replace the lid, and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Stir in the ketchup and butter. Continue cooking until chicken is fork tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed. Serve chicken with the sauce in the pot as a gravy.

TRINIDADIAN-STYLE CHICKEN

Steps:

• For the marinade: Place the garlic, shallots, onions, parsley, and vegetable oil in a food processor, and puree. Transfer the garlic mixture to a container, and set aside. For the chicken: Put the chicken pieces in a bowl and add half of the Amise marinade, cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for a maximum of 24 hours. In a wide-based pan, heat the sugar and vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Swirl the glaze until the sugar caramelizes and browns, approximately 7 to 10 minutes. As soon as the sugar caramelizes, add the chicken pieces, in one layer skin-side down and brown the chicken on all sides, about approximately 5 minutes. Add the onion, chile, plantain, tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce to the pan, and stir. Pour in the chicken stock, and bring the ingredients to a boil. Add in the reserved marinade and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for 30 to 40 minutes, and season the dish with salt, to taste. Turn off the heat. Transfer the chicken to a serving plate and garnish with the cilantro leaves just before serving.