jamaicandinnerServes 4

Brown stew chicken, less sugar

Name: Brown stew chicken, less sugar
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: jamaican
Ingredients: 600g Chicken thigh fillets (skinless); 1 Onion; 1 Sweet pepper; 2 Tomatoes; 3 cloves Garlic; 3 sprigs Fresh thyme; 1 tsp Browning sauce; 4 Allspice (pimento) berries; 300ml Chicken stock (low salt); 1 tbsp Rapeseed oil; 1 Scotch bonnet (whole)

Deep, glossy, thyme-rich stew chicken — browned the patient way rather than the sugary way.

Brown stew gets its colour from caramel — traditionally burnt sugar in hot oil. Patient browning of well-seasoned skinless chicken plus a spoon of browning sauce gives the same deep mahogany with far less added sugar, and the gravy still asks for a spoon.

Ingredients

Chicken thigh fillets (skinless)600g
Onion1
Sweet pepper1
Tomatoes2
Garlic3 cloves
Fresh thyme3 sprigs
Browning sauce1 tsp
Allspice (pimento) berries4
Chicken stock (low salt)300ml
Rapeseed oil1 tbsp
Scotch bonnet (whole)1

Method

1Season the chicken with garlic, thyme leaves, black pepper and the browning sauce; marinate 30 minutes or overnight.
2Brown the chicken hard in the oil in a heavy pot, 3–4 minutes a side, until deeply coloured. Set aside.
3Soften the onion and sweet pepper in the same pot, scraping up every dark bit — that is the flavour.
4Return the chicken with the tomatoes, allspice, stock and whole scotch bonnet. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
5Uncover and simmer 10 minutes more until the gravy is glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Serve with rice and peas or ground provisions.

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