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–+ servings
Seafood Pelau cooked in pot

Trinidad Seafood Pelau with Coconut and Pigeon Peas

Shellfish‑infused Caribbean pelau with shrimp, lobster, cod, mussels, clams, pigeon peas, pumpkin, and coconut milk; one‑pot comfort with island flair.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Course: Rice & One-Pot, Seafood & Fish
Cuisine: Fusion, Trinidadian
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 1 lb shrimp large, peeled, deveined
  • 1 lb cod cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 lb mussels cleaned
  • 1 lb clams cleaned
  • 1 lb lobster tail shells saved, meat chopped
  • 1 tablespoon butter optional, for shell stock
  • 2 scallions chopped
  • 2 tablespoons Caribbean green seasoning divided
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper divided
  • 4 sprigs thyme
  • 1 1/2 cups pumpkin diced
  • 4-6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 large carrot diced
  • 1 can pigeon peas rinsed
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon salt or to taste
  • 2 cups par-boiled brown rice long-grain
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger grated
  • 3–5 bird’s eye peppers whole or halved
  • 4–7 cups water or shell stock
  • 3-4 tablespoons parsley chopped

Method
 

  1. Clean seafood: rinse shrimp with lime water, chop lobster meat and reserve shells; set aside.
    Ingredients prepped in seperate bowls for seafood pelau
  2. For shell stock, simmer lobster shells, shrimp shells, thyme, scallions, half the pepper, and butter in 3 cups water until reduced by 2/3. Strain and reserve stock.
    shrimp in a bowl
  3. In the main pot, heat olive oil and brown sugar over high heat, stirring until amber. 
  4. Add pigeon peas, pumpkin, and carrot.
    carrots added to pot
  5. Lower heat to medium and add garlic, scallions, bird’s eye pepper, ginger, coconut milk, and simmer for 1 minute.
    boiling pot of liquid
  6. Stir in brown rice, green seasoning, salt, remaining pepper, and 2½ cups hot water. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer and cook covered for 10 minutes.
    rice added to the pot
  7. Add reserved shell stock, cover, and cook 7 minutes. 
    added clams
  8. Add mussels and clams, pressing into liquid. Simmer 3 minutes.
    added mussels and clams to the pot
  9. Gently stir in chopped lobster and shrimp, remove from heat, cover, and let rest for 4 minutes. 
    Lobster added to the pot
  10. filet of cod on a plate
  11. Uncover, taste and adjust salt, sprinkle parsley, and squeeze lemon before serving.
    boiling seafood in a pot
  12. Cooked seafood pelau in a pot

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