Brown stew chicken
Serves: 4, plus leftovers
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Ant Duncan
Brown stew chicken
Curry goat and jerk might have all the fame, but an aromatic Jamaican brown stew chicken is the dish that will keep you warm at night. The deep, rich colour of the gravy comes partially from the use of browning, which we make from scratch in this recipe; any left can be used in other gravies. If you want to save time, buy it ready-made in store
Serves: 4, plus leftovers
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
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Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
415Kcal
Fat
17gr
Saturates
3gr
Carbs
10gr
Sugars
8gr
Fibre
4gr
Protein
54gr
Salt
3gr
Nadine Brown
When Nadine isn't busy developing delicious recipes and using her experience as a health food editor to create healthy treats, she's munching and reviewing her way around her beloved home town of Tottenham. Find out what she's cooking and eating on Instagram @n0sh.17
See more of Nadine Brown’s recipes
Nadine Brown
When Nadine isn't busy developing delicious recipes and using her experience as a health food editor to create healthy treats, she's munching and reviewing her way around her beloved home town of Tottenham. Find out what she's cooking and eating on Instagram @n0sh.17
See more of Nadine Brown’s recipes
Ingredients
- 200g light brown sugar, for the browning (or 2 tsp bought bottled browning, such as Sarson’s)
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp ground allspice
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 8 skinless chicken thigh fillets
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, dice
- 1 green pepper, diced
- 1 large carrot, sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
For the gravy
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 375ml chicken stock (made using 1 stock cube) - use gluten-free stock if required
- 3 thyme sprigs
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
- juice of 1 lemon, to taste
Step by step
Get ahead
The browning can be made in advance and keeps almost indefinitely if stored in a sterilised bottle and kept in a cool, dark place. Marinate the chicken at least 3 hrs ahead of cooking.
- Start off by making the browning. Tip the sugar into a large, wide pan (a lighter metal will help show the colour changes). Place over a medium heat for the sugar to melt; this will take about 10 minutes. Shake the pan ratherthan stirring it initially,but when it really starts to caramelise at the edges, use a spatula to draw this into the centre, continuing until it has all melted, then continue to cook until it’s deep brown in colour but not black. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly add 150ml boiled water, whisking as you go; it will bubble up, so take care. Set aside to cool and transfer to a sterilised jar until needed.
- In a large bowl, combine the paprika, allspice, ginger and salt with some freshly ground black pepper. Add the chicken and 2 teaspoons of the browning, rubbing in with your hands. Mix in the onion, spring onions, peppers, carrot and garlic. Cover and transfer to the fridge for a minimum of 3 hours, ideally overnight.
- Once the chicken has marinated, remove it from the bowl, setting the veg aside. Heat the oil in a large, flameproof dutch oven over a medium heat. Brown the chicken in two batches, searing on each side for 2-3 minutes until golden. Set aside on a plate.
- Scrape all the veg and marinade into the pan, along with the tomato purée. Cook for 5 minutes until the veg have softened and the purée is deeper in colour. Stir in the stock then add the chicken back in, along with the thyme, bay leaves and whole Scotch bonnet. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the gravy has thickened slightly.
-
Once done, remove the bay leaves, thyme stalks and Scotch bonnet. Add a squeeze of lemon and season to taste. Serve with rice.
