Trinidad Stewed Chicken Recipe

Do I need to marinate my chicken for Stew Chicken?

I originally intended to provide you with a recipe that requires marinating the chicken for deeper flavor. If I did that, I would not be preaching what I practice, so I won’t. In my kitchen, there are days I don’t marinate the chicken. I just don’t have the time (I know you have heard that line from me before!).

Occasionally, my husband (anticipating a delicious fresh meal) takes a chicken out of the freezer to defrost before we leave for work. I rush home, cut up the chicken (in a matter of minutes), wash it, and throw everything together in the pot. Et voila! A delicious, simple, and satisfying meal with the freshest ingredients in no time!

The bottom line; it is not mandatory, but it does add flavor!

How to serve Trinidad Stew Chicken?

In Trinidad, stewed chicken is a Sunday lunch staple, often served with a variety of sides that reflect the island’s rich culinary diversity. Popular pairings include stewed beans or peas, dhal, creamy callaloo, white or brown rice, potato salad, fried rice, or classic roti options like paratha (buss-up-shot), dhalpuri, dosti roti, and sada roti. One of the most beloved side dishes is macaroni pie, adding a baked, cheesy element to the meal.

This dish isn’t just reserved for Sundays, though. Stewed chicken is versatile and perfect for a quick weekday or weeknight lunch or dinner. It brings comforting, familiar flavors to the table in under an hour, making it an ideal go-to meal for busy families.

Growing up in Trinidad, I fondly remember Saturday trips to the local Chinese Food mart/take out after running errands, Daddy would order freshly baked hops (Trinidadian dinner rolls) stuffed with savory, stewed chicken or gizzards, cheese, channa or chow mein. Those simple yet delicious sandwiches are imprinted in my memory.

My favorite pairings with Stewed Chicken:

• Freshly Steamed Rice and Dhal on the side
• Stewed Lentils, or Stewed BlackEyed Peas, Rice, Boiled or Fried Plantain
• Rice, Stewed Red Beans, Macaroni pie,  Boiled Plantain, Salad
• Sada Roti
• Paratha Roti and Curry Aloo (and/or Curry Channa and Aloo)
• Dhalpuri and Curry Aloo (or Mummy’s Curry Aloo) and Mango Talkarie
• Freshly Steamed Rice and Callaloo (with Macaroni Pie), Potato Salad
• Fried Rice and Macaroni Salad or Potato Salad, try this Beet Potato Salad
• Lo Mein and Fried Rice
• Peas Dhal, Dhalpuri, Curry Mango
• Mummy’s Kitcherie / Kitchri / Kichadi
• Stewed Chicken and Hops Bread

Ingredients You Will Need To Make Stewed Chicken 

• chicken, cut into 2 inch pieces, whole chicken cut up or pieces cut up (thigh or drumstick)
• cooking oil 
• brown sugar
• scallion (white and green parts) 
• onion ( I use sweet onion)
• garlic, grated or minced
• tomato, chopped (optional)
• grated ginger (optional)
• ketchup 
• thyme sprigs
• pimento peppers and/or habanero pepper, to taste (optional)
• Salt 
  black pepper
• Optional ingredients: 1-2 potatoes or 1 cup cooked pigeon peas or beans

Tips for the Perfect Stewed Chicken(brown stew chicken):

• • Do not allow the sugar to get black, if it does you have to start over. Allow it to bubble, froth, expand, and darken–a good indication of readiness is when it starts to smoke and darken. 
  • When I buy ginger, I wash and cut it into various sizes (1 and 2 inches and some larger), freeze in a resealable bag and use it as needed. Grating is effortless when frozen, the ginger never “disintegrates” and I always have a supply to enhance recipes!
  •  Buy pre-cut pieces of chicken (whole chicken, thighs, legs or wings) if you are overwhelmed by the thought of “cutting up” a whole chicken.
  •  If time is on your side, mince scallion, garlic, hot pepper and thyme in a food processor or blender and marinate the chicken for a few hours or overnight , adding salt and pepper. 
  • If the chicken starts to shred while cooking, it’s a clear sign that it is overcooked. I know from experience that chicken bought in NY is more tender, releases “lots” of water (when that happens I don’t add additional water) and cooks quicker than chicken from Trinidad, so cooks in Trinidad may have to add additional water and increase the cooking time. 
    
    Watch me cook this on You Tube, Click Here

 How to Make Trini Stewed Chicken

Step by Step Instructions:

 

I have no doubt that you will enjoy the exquisite taste of this authentic Trinidadian stew chicken ….

Trinidad Stewed Chicken Recipe

Trinidadian stew chicken is quite unique from stews around the world. There are many variations, but in my simple recipe, pieces of chicken are first browned in a modest amount of "burnt" sugar and the flavor is enhanced with fresh herbs, garlic, tomato, a touch of ginger and pimento, habanero or other hot pepper. Stew chicken is one of my favorite chicken recipes. I always say, “you know you are a Trini (a Trinidadian) if you don’t know what to cook and you decide to make either stewed chicken or curried chicken”. In minutes you can prepare this mouthwatering stew chicken that's unrivaled in flavor. In my opinion, there is no chicken recipe anywhere that can produce such a complex and satisfying experience with the minimum effort required of this recipe.

5 from 7 votes

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Course: dinner, lunch

Cuisine: Caribbean

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 10

Calories: 261kcal

Ingredients

• 4 pounds chicken cut into 2 inch pieces
• 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 5 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 scallions – about 1 cup chopped scallion
• 1/2 onion small
• 4 cloves garlic grated or minced
• 1 plum tomato chopped (optional)
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger grated, optional
• 4 tablespoons ketchup optional
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 1 tablespoon bandhania minced
• 2 pimento peppers and/or habanero pepper to taste (optional)
• 2 tsp Salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

• 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.

Video

Notes

Cooking Tips:
When I buy ginger, I wash and cut it into various sizes (1 and 2 inches and some larger), freeze in a resealable bag and use as needed. Grating is effortless when frozen, the ginger never "disintegrates" and I always have a supply to enhance recipes!

Buy pre-cut pieces of chicken (whole chicken, thighs, legs or wings) if you are overwhelmed by the thought of “cutting up” a whole chicken.

If time is on your side, mince scallion, garlic, hot pepper and thyme in a food processor or blender and marinate the chicken for a few hours or overnight , adding salt and pepper.

If the chicken starts to shred while cooking, it's a clear sign that it is overcooked. I know from experience that chicken bought in NY is more tender, releases "lots" of water (when that happens I don't add additional water) and cooks quicker than chicken from Trinidad, so cooks in Trinidad may have to add additional water and increase the cooking time.

Nutrition

Calories: 261kcal | Carbohydrates: 9g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 65mg | Sodium: 584mg | Potassium: 232mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 266IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg