trinidad stewed chicken Archives

Growing up on the islands meant that whenever we got a fever mom would make us fever-grass tea. Basically we grew up associating being sick with this bush. Fast-forward years later and being new to Canada, I was blown away by this very same fever-grass. My cousin invited me to meet her in Toronto for lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant and things would never be the same again. From that day on I’ve been in love with fever-grass aka Lemongrass! Lemongrass chicken (grilled) on plain on steamed white rice, 30 years later and I still lovingly recall the dish.

You’ll Need…

3 lbs chicken (I used drumsticks)
1 1/2 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
1 medium tomato (diced)
1 medium onion (diced)
1 habanero pepper (see notes)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt (adjust)
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 scallion (chopped fine)
6-8 sprigs thyme
3-5 sticks lemongrass (about 5 inches)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon golden brown sugar
2 cups water

Notes! Use any hot pepper you like or can source and in the amounts you can tolerate. With the lemongrass I removed the first layer of ‘skin’, then used the back (spine) of my knife to smash them (explained in the video below).

While I didn’t mention a lime or lemon (or 1/2 cup of vinegar) in the ingredient list, I did use the juice of the lime to wash the chicken drumsticks after I removed the skin off them, along with cool water. I know not everyone is comfortable washing chicken.

Season the chicken with everything except the water, thyme, lemon grass, scallion, parsley, oil and sugar. Give it a good mix, then allow it to marinate for at least one hour.

The browning step is best followed using the video below as I couldn’t pause to take pics as it happens very quickly. Heat the oil on a medium high flame in a deep heavy pot, then add the brown sugar and stir (explained in the video), it will melt, go frothy and then a deep amber. This is when you’ll add the seasoned chicken to the pot and stir to coat. In the video I explain why you may need to turn the fan on in your kitchen and why if the sugar goes black, STOP and do NOT continue.

Turn the heat to medium, cover the pot and cook for 4 minutes. After-which remove the lid and burn off any liquid which may have sprouted naturally.

In the same bowl you marinated the chicken, swish around 2 cups of water to pick up any remaining marinade. This water now goes into the pot to fully cook the chicken. Add the thyme and lemongrass. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook with the lid slightly ajar.

20-25 minutes later it’s time to personalize things. Taste and adjust the salt to your liking, ensure the gravy’s consistency is on par to how you and your family enjoy and remove the pieces of thyme and lemongrass and into the rubbish. They’ve completed their mission.

Keep in mind that the gravy will thicken a bit as it cools and the residual heat in the pot will also assist in doing so. Toss in the parsley and scallion and mix. Turn off the stove.

An incredible way to add a new flavor to a classic Caribbean dish, in brown stew chicken. Feel free to add a teaspoon of grated ginger along with a bay leaf if you want. Serve with rice, roti, bread, ground provisions on any way you usually serve saucy chicken dishes. My fave.. on top of white cheddar mac and cheese.

Caribbean Stew Chicken (brown stew) With Potato.

May 27, 2025February 18, 20221 Comment

Brown Stew! Nah.. that’s another recipe altogether, but for some it may be how they would recognize or identify this dish. Stew Chicken (don’t say stewed) is as classic a recipe gets, when it comes to Caribbean culinary culture. Loaded with deep flavors of herbs, ginger and caramelized sugar, braised until the chicken is falling apart and a dish you’d readily prepare when hosting guests.

For those weekdays when mom didn’t have enough chicken to make a complete dish, she would toss in potatoes to stretch it for our family of six.

You’ll Need…

4 lbs boneless chicken thighs (bone in works excellent also)
1 heaping tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning
3/4 tablespoon salt (adjust)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 scotch bonnet pepper (* optional | sliced thin)
1 med tomato (diced)
1 medium onion (diced)
5 medium potatoes (1/4)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon golden brown sugar
3-4 cups water
2 tablespoon parsley (chopped)

Important! If making this dish gluten free, please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary needs. Especially the Worcestershire Sauce, which can be left out if it’s an issue.

Season the chicken (2-3 inch size pieces) with the salt, Worcestershire Sauce, tomato, onion, ginger, Caribbean green seasoning, black pepper and scotch bonnet pepper. Add as much scotch bonnet as you can handle or use a spicy pepper you like or can source. Yes, Habanero works great too. As always, wash your hands with soap and water after handling spicy peppers.

Allow the chicken to marinate for 1-2 hours or overnight if you have the time.

Heat the oil in a heavy pot or a medium high flame, then add the brown sugar. This is the most critical part of the recipe, so may I recommend that you watch the video below to follow along. The sugar will melt, go frothy, then amber and onto a deep amber. At this point you will add the seasoned chicken to the pot (being careful) and stir well. The goal is to coat the chicken with the caramelized sugar. No the dish will NOT be sweet.

Should the sugar go beyond dark amber = BLACK! STOP.. cool the pot down completely, wash, dry and repeat, black or burnt sugar will give the dish a bitter taste. While the sugar was melting and going to the desired color, I constantly stirred the pot (DRY Spoon).

With the heat still on high, bring to a boil (lid on). Yes, it will produce it’s on natural juices.

After 3-5 minutes you can now remove the lid and try to burn off that liquid. That will intensify the color and flavor. It will take about 3-5 minutes.

In the same bowl you marinated the chicken, swish around 3 cups of water to pick up any remaining marinade.

With the chicken now browned and there’s no liquid, add the potato to the pot and stir well.

Then add the water (from the bowl) to the pot and bring up to a boil. If you find that the potatoes are not covered, add the 4th cup of water.

On a high heat it will come to a boil in about 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to a rolling boil, place the lid on slightly ajar and let it go until the chicken is fully cooked and the potato falling apart.

I purposely put the potato in large pieces as I wanted to maintain it’s shape, even when cooked. BUT.. near the end I was a bit vigorous when I stirred the pot to gently bruise them so it would release it’s starch and thicken the gravy.

Time for you to determine if the gravy is thick enough for your liking and do taste and adjust the salt level. Be mindful that as the dish cools, it will naturally thicken too.

Toss in the parsley and get ready to enjoy an incredible meal. Well, you’ll need some steamed rice, roti or even as a topping for pasta tossed in butter. Yea, mac and cheese would be elevated with this as a side.

Back to mom and not having enough chicken. It wasn’t that we didn’t have enough, but a matter of her planning her weekly menu. On the weekend we’d butcher two large chickens. The first would be for the large Sunday lunch (biggest meal of the week in Trinidad and Tobago) and the other bird would be divided in half. Those two halves of chicken would make it’s way into two different meals.

Drop me your comments below, tag me on Instagram and don’t forget you can now get my cookbook – The Vibrant Caribbean Pot, 100 Traditional And Fusion Recipes @ CaribbeanPot.com/CookBook/

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.

trinidad stewed chicken

Delicious Lemongrass Stewed Chicken in 30 Minutes.

Caribbean Stew Chicken (brown stew) With Potato.

French Beans With Leftover Caribbean Stewed Pork.

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