Dinner · 75 min · caribbean

Pelau

A Caribbean dinner built around chicken pieces and brown sugar — on the table in 75 minutes.

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 2.5 lb Chicken pieces
• 3 tbsp Brown sugar
• 2.5 cups dry Long-grain rice
• 1 can Coconut milk
• 1 can Pigeon peas
• 2 Carrots
• 0.5 cup Green seasoning
• 2 cups Chicken broth
• 1 Scotch bonnet pepper

Steps

1. Season the chicken with green seasoning and salt. Heat oil in a heavy pot, sprinkle in the brown sugar, and let it caramelize to a deep amber — then add the chicken. This “browning” gives pelau its signature color and smoky sweetness. Watch the sugar closely; burnt sugar is bitter.
2. Stir in the rice to coat in the caramel, then add the coconut milk, broth, pigeon peas, diced carrots, and the whole Scotch bonnet.
3. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook on low 25 minutes without lifting the lid.
4. Rest 10 minutes, then fluff and remove the pepper. The rice should be separate, golden-brown, and fragrant.
5. Serve with coleslaw and fried plantains. Trinidad’s one-pot wonder — the caramelized sugar makes it taste like nowhere else on earth.

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