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SCORCHin’ The Pot : Pelau

Jul 3, '15 by SCORCH Magazine
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Nothing makes a man/woman more attractive than knowing how to cook. Especially being Trinis, we love nothing more than our bellies. So this Friday afternoon, SCORCH decided to teach some of you (mainly those who have KFC on speed dial), how to cook on of our staple meals…PELAU. And just in time for Sunday lunch! So here are the steps you need to follow in order to make a bossss Pelau, just like we did at SCORCH.

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Well, first, before we start with the steps, it is important that you have these ingredients. Not sure what they are from the picture? Well, here we have:

  • Brown Sugar
  • Rice
  • Chadon Beni
  • Coconut milk
  • Peas and carrots
  • Onions
  • Garlic
  • Tomato
  • Green pepper
  • Pimento
  • Ketchup
  • Oil
  • Maggie Season Up (chicken)
  • Chicken (cut up and seasoned please!)

    • Alright, so next up, we have the Steps.

Step 1: Burning the sugar

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This is probably one of the most crucial steps in making a good Trini ‘Lau. Start by heating some oil at medium high heat. Once it’s hot, scatter the brown sugar into the pot to ensure that the sugar is caramelized evenly. Now, once you see that sugar start to get melt and caramelize (take a nice brown colour), make sure you add your seasoned chicken one time, because there is a thin line between a sweet, pot-banging pelau and a bitter, bun sugar pelau that you will eventually end up throwin for yuh pothound, and nobody wants that.

Step 2: Cooking the meat

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Once you add the chicken or meat, mix it thoroughly with the sugar so that the meat is coated with the mixture. At this point you could take yuh insta pic or update yuh Facebook status to “bubblin a pot” for a 7-10 minutes before you have to worry about doing anything else.

Step 3: Adding other ingredients

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Right, so now is the time to add yuh pigeon peas, carrots, onions, pimentos, all that good stuff to spice up yuh pot. Stir this mixture for about 3 minutes.

Step 4: Adding the liquids

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What is a good ‘lau without some coconut milk? So at this point, pour in the coco milk, the stock and about 3 cups of water. Season with salt and pepper to preference, and if yuh want a bess pelau like we had at SCORCH, add a whole pepper. Stir everything to mix and cover the lid to bring the pot to a boil.

Step 5: Adding the rice

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Of course you cannot forget the rice. When the pot is boiling, add the rice and continue to stir for a minute and place the lid back onto the pot.

Step 6: Boiling and Simmering

Keep checking your pot every now and then until you notice that the pot has come to a boil after adding the rice. Then, remove the lid partially to the side and continue to boil until you can see the surface of the dish. Now you want to cover the pot completely, reduce the heat to low to let it simmer. Leave to cook for 25 – 30 minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated, but make sure you keep watching yuh pot so it doh burn!

So by now yuh should have a boss Pelau in yuh hands, and don’t worry, tell yuh man/woman they could thank us later!