Trini brown stew chicken with hot pepper sauce

Brown stew is a distinctively Caribbean dish where the meat is browned in caramelised sugar then cooked in a sauce rich in herbs and spices to produce a thick, flavoursome gravy. The combination of Indian spices, European herbs and Latin American allspice and chilli is also really characteristic of Caribbean cooking and a legacy of the islands being something of a crossroads throughout history.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Mix the chicken with the carrot, spring onions, garlic, ginger, juice of 1 lime, chicken marinade spices and 1 tsp salt.
2. Soak the pepper sauce spices in 100 ml freshly boiled water from the kettle.
3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide pan over a high heat. Add the sugar to the hot oil, stir it around, and carefully cook for
   1 minute or until it first dissolves then beings to caramelise and turn brown, watching all the time.
4. Add the chicken (including all the marinade) and stir to coat in the hot sugar and oil - be very careful as the sugar is extremely hot!
5. Cook on a high heat, stirring occasionally, for
   5 minutes or until the chicken if starting to caramelise on both sides.
6. Add 150 ml water and the brown stew spices then cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for
   45 minutes and until the chicken is cooked through to the bone and the sauce if rich and thick (adding a splash of water if necessary).
7. 15 minutes before the stew if ready, cook the rice and greens.
8. Blend the soaked pepper sauce spices (including the soaking water) with the juice and zest of 1 lime and a pinch of salt into a smooth sauce.
9. Serve the brown chicken stew with the rice, greens and pepper sauce on the side.