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Table of Contents
“Week 45 brought stewed chicken with red beans, rice, plantains, and coleslaw — a Trinidadian Sunday lunch carrying the rhythm of home, the warmth of childhood kitchens, and the kind of comfort we return to again and again.”
🏡 In the Kitchen
By the time I stepped into the kitchen that Sunday morning, the house was still — the kind of quiet that comes before the holiday rush. My husband was busy with home projects, preparing for Thanksgiving, and I had the kitchen to myself.
The night before, I placed the chicken and red beans — both prepped from the week before into the fridge to defrost(remember I ended up changing the menu since the chicken was not defrosted). Those beans had been pressure-cooked and frozen, the chicken already cut into small pieces. By morning, everything was ready to go. After a good rinse, I seasoned the chicken well with green seasoning, salt, and pepper — simple, familiar flavors that always feel like home.
The air soon filled with the scent every Trini knows — caramelized sugar turning dark amber, right on the edge of smoke. I added the chicken to the pot, and the sizzle came alive — that sharp hiss as the meat hits the hot caramel. The aroma that followed was pure comfort: sweet sugar, savory herbs, and the kind of fragrance that fills a house and pulls everyone toward the kitchen.
For the next thirty minutes, the chicken simmered slowly, soaking up the flavor. Then I stirred in the pre cooked red beans and gave it ten more minutes to bubble gently together. It seemed effortless, but anyone who cooks knows there’s an art to this — knowing when to turn, when to stir, and when to let the pot speak for itself. The result was divine: tender chicken, silky beans, a sauce rich with caramelized sweetness and depth.
🍗 A Trini Variation on Stew Peas
This dish reminded me of Jamaican stew peas — similar ingredients, different hands. But to me, it also carried echoes of home. Mummy used to make stewed chicken and beans as a variation of the regular stew — one of her clever ways to keep mealtimes interesting in our small village surrounded by sugarcane fields. Sometimes she did it to stretch the meal a little further, or when she didn’t want to cook two separate dishes. Other times, it was her way of using leftover stewed beans, adding them to the chicken pot to create something new yet familiar.
It was simple food, but never boring. Every spoonful held that blend of sweetness from the burnt sugar and the earthy creaminess of beans — two flavors that felt like childhood, like home.
Across the Caribbean, the story repeats itself. We share the same staples — beans, coconut milk, thyme, pepper — but each island writes its own chapter. Where Jamaica adds salted pigtails and coconut milk in their stew peas(which I posted recently), in this recipe, I brown sugar first, toss in seasoned chicken and later add in the boiled boiled beans. The soul of the dish is the same: patience, rhythm, and love.
⏳ The Art of Getting It Just Right
There’s a gentle kind of patience required for a pot of stewed chicken with beans. The beans must soften without losing their shape, the chicken should be tender yet steady, and the sauce needs time to thicken until it lightly coats the spoon. You stay close to the pot — tasting, watching, listening — waiting for that quiet moment when everything settles into balance.
And in those moments, I’m suddenly back in Trinidad — back to childhood Sundays when the scent of caramelized sugar, meat, beans, and herbs drifted through the louvres and floated across the yard. That same scent fills my New York kitchen now, though the breeze outside is colder and the view beyond the window has traded cane fields for trees readying themselves for winter. Yet somehow the spirit of the dish stays unchanged.
🥗 The Sides That Followed
The rice cooker worked quietly in the corner — my reliable helper for the day. While the stew simmered, I boiled ripe plantains until tender and sweet, and tossed together a creamy coleslaw for balance. What began as a calm morning soon became another full Sunday spread.
Between stirring the stew and slicing cabbage, I also meal-prepped for the week — baked chicken, mashed sweet potatoes with butter and maple syrup (inspired by a Cajun-style side I’d tasted the day before), and a quick cabbage stir-fry for my husband’s lunches.
We ended the evening with steaming mugs of real Trinidad Cocoa Tea, rich, spiced, and soothing — the perfect finish to a meal made from patience and love.
❤️ Reflections
This Sunday lunch carried more than flavor — it carried memory. From Mummy’s kitchen in the village to my own in New York, it’s the same heartbeat in every pot. Some recipes don’t need to be written down; they’re felt — in the rhythm of stirring, in the scent of browning sugar, in the way the beans soften just enough.
Cooking is how I remember. Every stew, every simmer, every spoonful brings back a little piece of where I came from — and reminds me why I continue to cook, share, love, and enjoy.
🍽️ Sunday Lunch Menu
- Trini Stewed Chicken with Red Beans (recipe coming soon)
- White Rice (Rice Cooker Method)
- Coleslaw – Get the Recipe →
- Boiled Ripe Plantain (recipe coming soon)
- Cocoa Tea – Get the Recipe →
🌴 More Sunday Lunches to Explore
I’m cooking and documenting 52 weeks of Sunday Lunches — one full year of real meals from my Trinidadian kitchen in New York. Each week has its own story, menu, and pace, inspired by memory, tradition, and whatever ingredients life brings my way.
Below, you’ll find the most recent Sunday Lunch posts. Whether you’re searching for inspiration, catching up on past weeks, or simply curious about what’s cooking, this section makes it easy to explore the full series.
- Sunday Lunch Week 41: Curry Channa and Aloo with Baigan and Curry Bodi and Aloo
- Sunday Lunch Week 42: Pumpkin Talkarie, Mango & Mother-in-Law
- Sunday Lunch Week 43: Jamaican Stew Peas with Pigtail
- Sunday Lunch Week 44: Mexican-Style Steak Bowl (Time Change Chaos)
- See all 52 Weeks of Sunday Lunches →
⭐ Don’t Forget to Rate the Recipes!
If you’ve tried any of the recipes from this Sunday Lunch, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating on the recipe card! It helps others find and enjoy these traditional Caribbean dishes too.
💌 Questions or Recipe Requests — Write Me!
If you have any questions or suggestions about this recipe or post—or if there’s a dish you’ve been searching for and would love to see me make—please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below or reach out via email at [email protected].
Many of my favorite posts are inspired by your requests and kitchen stories, so don’t be shy.
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