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–+ servings
Chicken wings Pelau in a red pot on the stove

The Ultimate Chicken Wings Pelau

This classic one-pot dish is made with rice, peas, and usually a meat of some kind (marinated overnight), simmered in coconut milk and finished with chopped herbs.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Caribbean Classics, Chicken Recipes, Rice & One-Pot, Sunday Dinners, Weeknight Dinners
Cuisine: Trinidadian
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 pounds chicken wings split
  • 3/4 tablespoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 2 tablespoons Caribbean Green Seasoning
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tomato roughly chopped
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 Scotch Bonnet pepper optional
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons golden brown sugar
  • 1 large carrot diced
  • 1 can pigeon peas drained, rinsed
  • 3 pimento peppers roughly chopped
  • 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
  • 2 tablespoons scallions chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chadon beni chopped
  • 2 cups parboiled long-grain brown rice washed
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 cups coconut milk

Method
 

  1. Season the wings with the salt, black pepper, Green Seasoning, grated ginger, Scotch Bonnet pepper, Worcestershire sauce, tomato, and onion. Allow to marinate overnight if you have time, or at least 2 hours.
  2. Heat the oil in a heavy and wide pot and add the brown sugar. 
  3. Stir well to coat, then continue cooking over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
    Coating raw chicken wings in pot with seasoning
  4. It will spring its natural juices, the goal is to burn that off and in doing so, develop a lovely deep color. Once that liquid is gone and your wings are a deep golden colour, it’s time to continue.
    Chicken wings getting juicy in a pot on the stove
  5. Add the carrot, pigeon peas (from a can, rinsed), pimento peppers, and 1/2 of the parsley, plus scallions and Chadon Beni.
    Adding in the carrot, pigeon peas (from a can, rinsed), pimento peppers, and 1/2 of the parsley, plus scallions and Chadon Beni.
  6. Stir well.
  7. Add the washed rice, along with the coconut milk and water.
    Add in rice to pot
  8. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the chicken wings are fully cooked and the rice is tender and plump.
  9. Taste and adjust the salt to your liking.
  10. Stir in the remaining parsley, scallions, and Chadon Beni. Cover the pot and allow it to sit for 10-15 minutes before serving. The residual heat will allow the added herbs to bloom for a lovely finishing note.
    Add in scallions to mixture on the stove

Notes

Follow along with the video, which provides a more detailed discussion of the recipe, including texture and color preferences, as well as other ways to enhance the flavor of the completed Pelau. I used dried pigeon peas from a can, but in most instances, I use the green pigeon peas (from a can).

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