Belize - Stew Chicken

The Country

The tiny, tropical nation of Belize is sandwiched between the Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala on the Caribbean side of Central America. Belize is extremely popular with tourists and is a common stopover for cruise ships from the US. Belize offers beaches, scuba diving, and all of the various activities you can enjoy in the jungle…including occasionally getting eaten by a Jaguar.

The Cuisine

Belizean cuisine, much like its culture, is a blend of the traditions of the native Mayans, the Afro-Caribbean Garifuna people, and influences from the British who controlled the area for over 100 years. Similar to other countries in the region, foods such as rice, beans, corn, and meats like chicken form the backbone of the day-to-day. Some of the major complementary flavors you’ll find are coconut, lime, plantain, allspice, and achiote (known as “recado” locally).

The Dish

Probably the most popular dish you’ll find in Belize is stewed chicken with rice and beans. The dish forms part of the traditional Belizean Sunday Dinner, along with plantains and potato salad. The chicken is seasoned with achiote paste, lime juice (or vinegar), salt, thyme, and cumin and stewed with onions, peppers, and tomatoes. The beans and rice are seasoned with thyme and cooked in coconut milk.

The Recipe

For this dish, I used a recipe provided by the Ixtabai Restaurant in San Ignacio, Belize (Link). I made a couple tweaks, like using a mix of boneless/skinless chicken thighs and chicken drumsticks rather than a whole parted out chicken and using canned beans instead of dry (because I’m nothing if not lazy), but I followed the overall recipe pretty closely.

Ingredients

Chicken

2 pounds boneless/skinless chicken thighs

2 pounds chicken drumsticks

Vinegar or lime juice to taste

1 clove garlic (finely minced)

Dime-sized piece of achiote paste

1 tsp. teach of thyme, salt, and black pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tsp. brown sugar

1 small tomato, diced

1 sliver of ginger root

Cilantro (to taste)

2 tablespoons finely minced onion

1 tablespoon finely minced bell pepper.

Rice and Beans

2 cups canned red kidney beans, drained

1 medium onion, diced

2 cups coconut milk

2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice, rinsed well

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. thyme

Black pepper to taste

Directions

Toss the chicken and coat with a mixture of vinegar/lime juice, achiote, salt, cumin, thyme, black pepper, and minced cilantro. Set aside.

Note: I deviated from the recipe here and rather than using ginger root, I added 1/2 tsp of ground ginger to the spices added in this step. You can go either way.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pot over medium-high heat, and add the brown sugar, stirring until it melts.

Be careful here, you can go from zero to horrific burnt goo in no time flat, so watch the sugar closely.

Add the garlic to the pot, stir and cook until fragrant. Add the seasoned chicken and cook, turning periodically until the chicken is nicely browned.

Add the onion, pepper, and tomato to the pot along with half a cup of water. Stir to mix everything together.

Cover the pot, reduce the heat to medium, and let it simmer for around an hour until an instant read thermometer stuck into the chicken reads 165 degrees.

Keep an eye on the pot periodically, if it looks like it got significantly drier you should add a bit more water to ensure it can still stew properly.

When done, remove from the heat and serve with the rice and beans (steps coming next).

Note: I adapted this recipe for the Instant Pot pressure cooker because I was using my stock pot for the chicken. The linked recipe details how to make this on the stovetop.

Press the “Saute” button on the Instant Pot and allow to heat.

Add the onion and garlic to the pot and stir periodically until the onions are softened and the mix is fragrant, making sure not to burn the garlic.

Add the beans and spices to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, for a minute or two in order to allow the flavors to mix.

Add the rice and coconut milk to the pot and give it a couple stirs. Put the lid on the Instant Pot, move the valve to “Seal”, and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes.

Note: Its important to rinse the rice under running water thoroughly before using it….don’t be one of those soul-less monsters who uses unwashed rice.

When the timer is up, allow the Instant Pot to release pressure naturally (via just leaving it the hell alone) for 10 minutes, then turning the valve to release any pressure that remains.

Take the lid off the pot, stir the rice and beans, and serve with the chicken.

The Review

This is a pretty simple recipe to make, though it may take a bit longer than most people would be willing to spend for a weeknight. The flavors are nicely balanced, with some earthiness from the achiote and cumin, brightness and tang from the lime/vinegar, and a little sweetness from the onion/pepper/tomato mixture. Its not spicy at all, and could possibly benefit from a little minced habanero or a couple shakes of a bright and tangy hot sauce like El Yucateco, but as-is its so balanced that it likely doesn’t need anything else.

The beans and rice were so good that I’ll be making that again on its own at least once. The coconut milk makes the rice rich and creamy and a little sweet, the beans get nice and soft, and the spices add plenty of flavor without being over the top. The use of black pepper and thyme in both the chicken and the rice and beans makes their flavors complement each other well, but its not so close that it feels like you’re eating the same thing twice.

I’m going to give this one a 5/5, and I’ll absolutely be making it again.

Next up, we’re heading a bit south to Costa Rica and making Gallo Pinto.