stewed pork Archives | CaribbeanPot.com

About This Baigan and Aloo Recipe

Baigan (Eggplant) and Aloo (Potato) With Stewed Pork is one of those dishes that instantly takes me back to my childhood in the Caribbean. Growing up, this was a Monday kind of meal, made after Sunday dinner when there was always some stewed meat left over. Mommy would stretch that leftover stewed chicken, beef, or pork into something completely new, hearty, and deeply satisfying.

This dish was almost always paired with hot Sada Roti, making it a complete comfort meal. Back then, eggplant was never hard to find. We had it growing in the kitchen garden behind the house, and if not, mom made sure to pick some up at the farmer’s market in Marabella (south Trinidad) every Friday morning. Whether you call it baigan, eggplant, or melongene, it played a starring role in many home-cooked meals like this one.

This version uses leftover stewed pork, sometimes called brown-stew pork, but the method works just as well with any stewed meat you have on hand. It’s simple cooking, rooted in tradition, and exactly how many of us learned to make the most of what was already in the fridge.

Ingredient Guide

Eggplant (Baigan): Eggplant forms the base of this dish, breaking down as it cooks and helping to thicken the gravy while adding a mild, slightly sweet flavour.

Potatoes (Aloo): Potatoes add body and heartiness, soaking up the flavours of the seasonings and stewed pork.

Garlic: Garlic builds the first layer of flavour and gives the dish its aromatic foundation.

Onion: Onion adds natural sweetness and depth once it softens during cooking.

Scotch Bonnet Pepper: Used sparingly, this adds gentle heat and classic Caribbean flavour. It can be adjusted or replaced to suit your tolerance.

Leftover Stewed Pork: This brings richness and seasoning to the dish, making it a great way to repurpose Sunday’s leftovers.

Olive Oil: Used for sautéing and helping the garlic release its flavour.

Salt and Black Pepper: These balance and enhance all the ingredients as they cook together.

Water: Water helps everything come together into a tender, saucy dish.

Optional ingredients include coconut milk for richness, pimento peppers for aroma, and Caribbean green seasoning for added herbal notes.

Cooking Notes from the Kitchen

• You can leave the skin on the eggplant if you like, as it adds a slightly sweet, smoky flavour once cooked.
• Cutting the potatoes into different sizes allows some pieces to hold their shape while others break down and thicken the sauce.
• If scotch bonnet peppers are hard to find, any mild or medium chili pepper will work.
• This dish is forgiving, so feel free to adjust the seasoning toward the end to suit your taste.
• Adding a splash of coconut milk will give the dish a richer, creamier finish.

Shopping Made Easy

• Most grocery stores carry eggplant and potatoes year-round in the produce section.
• Caribbean green seasoning and scotch bonnet peppers are often found in Caribbean or international markets.
• If you don’t have leftover stewed pork, you can prepare a small batch in advance or substitute stewed chicken or beef.
• Look for firm, glossy eggplants without soft spots for best results.

Helpful Tips Before You Start

You can replace the scotch bonnet pepper with any pepper you enjoy or can easily find. If you cut the potato pieces into different sizes, some will break down while others will hold their shape, giving the dish a nice texture. You can also leave the skin on the eggplant if you like, as it adds a slightly sweet, smoky flavour once cooked.

Baigan (Eggplant) And Aloo (Potato) With Stewed Pork

A comforting Caribbean classic made with tender eggplant and potatoes simmered together, then finished with leftover stewed pork for a deeply flavorful one-pot meal. This is traditional Monday cooking at its best and perfect with hot sada roti.

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Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Course Caribbean Classics, Comfort Food, Easy Caribbean Recipes, Pork Recipes

Servings people

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
5 cloves garlic smashed
3 lbs eggplant peeled and cubed
3/4 tablespoon salt adjust to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 lbs potatoes peeled and sliced
1 large onion sliced
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper optional
2 cups water
2 to 3 cups leftover stewed pork brown-stew pork
Optional ingredients:
Coconut milk up to 1/2 cup
2 Pimento peppers chopped
tablespoon Caribbean green seasoning

Instructions

Wash, peel, and dice the eggplant and potatoes. Prepare the onion, garlic, and scotch bonnet pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a wide pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook on low heat for about 2 minutes until fragrant, taking care not to brown it.
Add the eggplant to the pot, increase the heat to medium, and stir well. Season with the salt and black pepper.
After about 1 minute, add the potatoes, sliced onion, and scotch bonnet pepper in an amount you can tolerate. Stir to combine. Habanero pepper is an excellent substitute for the scotch bonnet.
Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Add the water, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook with the lid slightly ajar. Stir every 4-5 minutes and add more water if required.
After about 20 minutes, add the leftover stewed pork and stir well so it’s evenly distributed.
Cook uncovered for 4 to 6 minutes, or until most of the liquid has cooked off and the dish has a thick, rich consistency. Taste and adjust the salt to your liking.
Taste and adjust the salt if needed. Serve with hot roti (I prefer Sada roti).

Video

Notes

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make baigan and aloo without meat?
Yes, this dish works very well as a vegetarian option. Leave out the stewed pork and consider adding coconut milk or extra seasoning for depth.

What can I substitute for Scotch onnet pepper?
You can use any chili pepper you prefer, or omit it entirely if you prefer a mild dish.

Can I use frozen eggplant?
Fresh eggplant is best for texture, but frozen eggplant can be used in a pinch, keeping in mind it will break down faster.

What should I serve with baigan and aloo?
This dish is traditionally served with sada roti, but it also pairs well with rice or dhal.

Keyword aloo, aloo curry, baigan, baigan and aloo, Caribbean cookbook, Caribbean cooking, Caribbean recipes, chris de la rosa, eggplant, melongene, stew pork, trinidad

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Caribbean Stewed Pork Ribs.

May 27, 2025March 23, 20171 Comment

We’ve grilled them, done a sort of “oven BBQ” during the winter and this coming summer I plan on doing a classic smoked/jerk over a charcoal fire, but for now I’d like to share yet another way to do pork ribs. You’re free to use the short ribs type you get at the Asian markets (ones sold for making dry garlic ribs), baby-back or your regular rack of pork ribs for this recipe. Using the classic Caribbean technique of ‘stewing’ to start, then we’ll slowly braise these ribs until they tender and packed with rich Caribbean flavor.

You’ll Need…

3-4 lbs pork ribs
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1 tablespoon ketchup
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 slices ginger
1 medium onion (diced)
1 medium tomato (diced)
2 birds eye pepper (bird pepper – chopped)
1 tablespoon veg oil
1 1/2 tablespoon golden brown sugar
2.5 – 3 cups water
4 sprigs thyme

Important! if doing this recipe gluten free, kindly go through the entire list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Give the ribs a quick wash with cool water and the juice of a lime or lemon (not mentioned in the ingredient list). Drain and get to seasoning. Add everything to the bowl EXCEPT the thyme, veg oil, brown sugar and water. The Bird Pepper is optional.. providing you want a kick to the dish.. you may use any spicy pepper you have on hand or like. Mix well and allow to marinate in the fridge for at least a couple hours.

In a heavy pot over a high flame heat the vegetable oil, then go in with the brown sugar. This step is crucial (we DON’t want to BURN the sugar). Using a dry spoon, stir the sugar until it starts to melt. It will go frothy, then amber in color (act fast). Here is where you add the season pork ribs to the pot. If the sugar goes black. STOP and start over or it will have a bitter taste. (watch the video below for more help with this).

Yes, it’s ok if the marinade goes into the pot as you add the pieces of ribs. But try to keep some back in the bowl. In the same bowl you marinated the ribs add the water and swish around so you can pick up all that goodness to add to the pot later. Stir well to coat the ribs with the ‘stew’ base we started off with. Turn the heat down to medium/low, cover the pot and let that go for about 10 minutes (stir a couple times). It will sprout it’s own natural juices.

After which it’s time to infuse the ribs with the color and flavor of the brown-stew. Remove the lid and crank up the heat to high – we want to burn off all that liquid. Be sure to stir. It will take about 4-6 minutes.

After all the water is gone and you start seeing the oil we started off with at the bottom of the pot, it’s time to add the water we had in the bowl we marinated the ribs in. Stir and bring to a boil. As it comes to a boil, top with the sprigs of thyme, reduce the heat to a simmer and place the lid on the pot.

Stir every 10-15 minutes. After about 1 hour and 25 minutes, you can now personalize this dish a bit. Taste for salt and adjust to your liking and you can now crank up the heat and burn off the liquid until you have a gravy the consistency you like. If our mom was doing this she would burn off ALL the liquid, but in my case I allowed it to go on high for about 5 minutes.. until I had a somewhat thick gravy or sauce. (I had this with rice)

These Caribbean stewed ribs are a great side-dish for your next family dinner or it can certainly make an impression the next time you hit a potluck at work.. go ahead and take all the praise. You can always start the “stewing” process on the stove-top and finish off in a slow cooker if you wanted.

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Gluten Free Meat & Poultry

French Beans With Leftover Caribbean Stewed Pork.

May 27, 2025March 5, 20151 Comment

Between spinach and beans it would be very difficult for me to decide which I adore more. The edge would probably go to beans simply because as a young fella on the islands I would help my parents grow different varieties in our kitchen garden. I hated pulling out the weeds, but I did enjoy harvesting them.. each bean picked off the bushes were like little prizes to my collection in the basket. Mom would normally make this dish for us whenever she would make stewed pork the evening before for dinner and had leftovers. If you’d like to make this dish vegetarian, simply leave out the stewed pork and for more flavor use coconut milk instead of the water mentioned in the ingredient list.

You’ll Need…

1.5 lbs French beans (any green bean will work)
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Olive oil
Hot pepper (I used wiri wiri)
1 cup water (or coconut milk if making this vegetarian)
left over stewed pork

* If making this dish gluten free, do go through the entire list of ingredients (including the stewed pork) to ensure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs.

Trim the beans, wash and drain. Chop the onion, mince the garlic and get ready to rock one of the tastiest french beans dish you’ve ever had. Heat the oil in a wide pan on a low heat, then add the garlic, onion, thyme and black pepper. Allow it to go for about 3 minutes, so we start with a lovely flavor base.

You will notice that I opted for a Guyanese favorite, wiri wiri peppers for this recipe but you can use any (or none) hot pepper you like. You’ll also notice that I added them whole and never cut or burst them, as we want flavor and not raw heat.

Turn up the heat and add the beans, stir well and go in with the salt and whole peppers. Lastly, add the water and bring to a boil.

When it comes to a boil turn the heat down to a simmer, cover the pan and allow to cook for about 10-15 minutes (this depends on how well-done you like your beans). Then add the pieces of stewed pork to the pot, mix well and turn the heat up to burn off any excess liquid which may still be in the pot. Once the liquid is gone, turn off the stove and you’re done. If adjusting the salt in this dish, do so ONLY after tasting it AFTER adding the stewed pork. Since the pork would have already been salted perfectly, you don’t want to salt before adding it to the pot.

I like my beans with a slight crunch to them, so I usually allow them to cook for about 8-10 minutes before I ad the stewed pork. Do remember to remove the peppers before serving and try your best to not break them during cooking.. well, unless you want that lovely kick from the heat. If you don’t have stewed pork, you can go in with stewed chicken or stewed beef with basically the same results as this version.