Pollo Guisado (Dominican Stewed Chicken)

After spending many years living in the Dominican Republic, nothing takes me back more than making a big batch of pollo guisado, the most tender, flavorful chicken you'll ever eat. Serve this with Dominican rice and beans and a slice of fresh avocado. The hard-to-find Dominican ingredients can easily be ordered online.

• Preparation Time: 15 mins
• Cooking Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 45 mins
• Calories: 273 Calories

Ingredients

• ⅓ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• ⅓ cup tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 1 (3 to 3 1/2 pound) whole chicken, skin removed and cut into pieces
• 2 Cubanelle peppers, chopped
• ¼ cup rancho adobo sazon criollo, or to taste
• 1 red onion, chopped into large pieces
• ¼ cup sazon liquido
• 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder, or more to taste

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Place chicken pieces in a bowl and season generously with ranchero sazon criollo. Add onion, Cubanelle peppers, sazon liquido, and garlic paste. Toss to coat chicken evenly.

Step 2

Put oil in the bottom of a heavy pot. Add brown sugar and do not stir. Turn heat to medium-high and cook until sugar is very, very dark brown but not burned, 5 to 10 minutes. Carefully add chicken pieces to the pot 1 at a time, reserving vegetables and any liquid left in the bowl. Stir chicken, coating each piece with sugar-oil mixture. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes.

Step 3

Add reserved vegetables and liquid, water, tomato paste, celery, and bouillon powder to the pot and stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Let stew until chicken is cooked and tender, 15 to 30 minutes.