Name: Trinidad Stewed Chicken
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 45 min
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

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Today I am sharing a delightful Trinidad Stewed Chicken Recipe.

Before I do, here is an update. Summer is officially here, rainstorms and all. What does summer mean to me? It means…..

feeling alive again (when it’s nice and sunny and not stormy like today)
early morning trips to the organic stand for freshly squeezed vegetable juice
family gatherings
lazy days relaxing on the beach
hanging out bare feet in my backyard
refreshing cold showers on very warm humid days
screaming at my hubbie to take off the A/C , since I like feeling hot and sweaty..(to be able to enjoy previously mentioned cold showers)
enjoying the kaleidoscope of pretty flowers
catching magnificent sunsets
exciting road trips
cooking everything on the grill……and eating bbq “everything” until I swear I’ll never eat another piece for the rest of my life, so help me God.

…but most importantly, happier kids, no stressful two hours every night helping with homework, projects and reading, no packing lunches, no traffic, no school buses to slow me down, no crowded trains, no commuting stress….and getting to work on time for a change.

Yes, it means a whole lot to me…..Oh summer how I love thee.

Why am I posting a stewed chicken recipe when it’s officially BBQ season? Trust me, you will be happy to eat stewed chicken in a few weeks when you are all bbq’d out……Ok, the truth is I have been working on this for a while and wanted to get rid of it from my “drafts”.

How to make Trinidad Stew Chicken?

As I have mentioned in earlier posts, Trinidadian stew is 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.

How to serve Trinidad Stew Chicken?

In Trinidad, this is a Sunday lunch favorite served with either stewed beans, peas, callaloo, white or brown rice, and macaroni pie.

Trinidad Stewed Chicken is a Popular Family Favorite

This 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 or curried chicken”.

In minutes, you can prepare this mouthwatering 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.

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, I don’t marinate the chicken. I 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!

What to eat with Trinidad Stewed Chicken?

These pair well:

Freshly Steamed Rice and Dhal on the side
Stewed Beans, Macaroni pie
Sada Roti
Paratha Roti and Curry Aloo
Dhalpuri and Curry Aloo and Mango Talkarie
Freshly Steamed Rice and Callaloo (with Macaroni Pie)
Fried Rice and Macaroni Salad

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.

Watch me cook this on You Tube, Click Here

Trinidad Stewed Chicken

Serves 6-8

4 pounds chicken, cut into 2 inch pieces

3 tablespoon cooking oil

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup chopped scallion (white and green parts) (about 2-4)

1/2 small onion ( I use sweet onion)

4 large cloves garlic, grated or minced

1 medium tomato, chopped (optional)

1 tablespoon grated ginger (optional)

3-4 tablespoons ketchup

4 sprigs fresh thyme sprigs

2 fresh pimento peppers and/or habanero pepper, to taste (optional)

Salt, to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper

Optional ingredients: 1-2 potatoes or 1 cup cooked peas or beans

Directions:

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.

In a large pot over medium heat, add oil. When hot but not smoking add sugar and allow it to bubble, froth 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 heat to high and stir continuously to coat with the brown sugar 1-2 minutes.

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.

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 liquid has evaporated, continue to cook for a few seconds to allow flavors 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. As I mentioned above, chicken from Trinidad may require more water and cooking time since I found that they are tougher than the chicken I buy here in NYC.

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…and wash it down with a cold glass of mauby, sorrel or home made lemonade…

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

Trinidad Stewed Chicken

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 6 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: dinner, lunch

Cuisine: Caribbean

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 45

Servings:

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.