Pelau (Trinidadian Caramelized Chicken Rice)

About This Recipe

Pelau is Trinidad and Tobago's defining one-pot dish — a national obsession sold from beach coolers, cooked at limes (parties), and made every Sunday in homes from Diego Martin to San Fernando. The technique is what makes it distinctly Trinidadian: brown sugar is melted in a heavy pot until it's nearly black and smoking, chicken pieces are dropped in to caramelize ferociously, then rice, pigeon peas (or red beans), pumpkin, coconut milk, and green seasoning are added and the whole pot is sealed and steamed. The result is a deeply savory rice gilded with mahogany-brown chicken, slightly sweet from caramelization and coconut, studded with creamy peas and tender pumpkin. Pelau reflects Trinidad's Indo-African-European-Indigenous food heritage — the burnt-sugar browning is West African, the pigeon peas are Caribbean, the rice technique is South Asian.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 1.2 kgbone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks, skin removed
• 3 tbspgreen seasoning (or paste of 4 garlic cloves + 1 bunch cilantro + 4 scallions + 1 tbsp thyme)
• 1 tbspfine salt, for the chicken
• 1 tbspfreshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tbspWorcestershire sauce
• 4 tbspbrown sugar
• 3 tbspvegetable oil
• 1 largeyellow onion, diced
• 6 clovesgarlic, crushed
• 400 gparboiled long-grain rice, rinsed
• 400 gcanned pigeon peas, drained (or 250 g fresh)
• 300 gpumpkin (kabocha or butternut), peeled and cubed
• 400 mlcoconut milk
• 600 mlhot water or chicken stock
• 1whole Scotch bonnet pepper (NOT pierced)
• 4 sprigsfresh thyme
• 1.5 tspfine salt, plus more to taste

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the chicken

   Rub chicken pieces with green seasoning, salt, pepper, soy sauce, and Worcestershire. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes — overnight is better for deeper flavor.

2. 2

   Burn the sugar

   Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high until shimmering. Sprinkle in the brown sugar and let it melt undisturbed for 60 seconds. It will turn from amber to dark brown to nearly black with smoke rising — this is what you want.

   If you stop too early, pelau will taste sweet. If you go too far it will be bitter. The smoke should look like a small bonfire is starting in your pot.

3. 3

   Add the chicken

   The moment the sugar is dark and smoking, add the chicken pieces all at once. They will sizzle violently and coat with mahogany caramel. Stir to coat all sides, 4 minutes.

4. 4

   Build the base

   Add the onion and garlic to the pot. Cook 4 minutes until softened. The sugar will continue cooking onto the chicken creating a glossy, almost teriyaki-like coating.

5. 5

   Add rice and peas

   Stir in the rinsed rice and pigeon peas. Toss to coat with the dark glaze, 60 seconds.

6. 6

   Add liquid and pumpkin

   Pour in the coconut milk and hot water. Add pumpkin cubes, thyme, salt, and the whole Scotch bonnet (do NOT pierce). Bring to a hard boil, then lower to lowest heat.

7. 7

   Steam

   Cover tightly with a lid (place a kitchen towel under the lid for a better seal). Cook 20 minutes without lifting the lid, then turn off the heat and rest 10 more minutes covered.

   Lifting the lid releases the steam that finishes cooking the rice. Do not peek.

8. 8

   Fluff and serve

   Remove Scotch bonnet and thyme. Fluff gently with a fork — the rice should be brown-gold and slightly sticky, the pumpkin almost dissolved into creamy flecks, the chicken glossy mahogany. Serve with a side coleslaw and a dash of pepper sauce.

Variations

• •

  Beef pelau: replace chicken with 1 kg stewing beef and braise 30 minutes before adding rice.

• •

  Vegetarian pelau: skip chicken; double the pumpkin and add 200 g cubed eggplant and an extra can of pigeon peas.

• •

  Tobago-style: add 150 g cured smoked pigtail in the marinade for a smokier version.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days. Reheat with a splash of water in a covered pan over low heat — never microwave at full power, the rice dries out and the chicken toughens.

Frequently Asked Questions