I neither need to be a housewife, or like a career woman because, woo!
Cooking all this food.
It’s a lot of work.
Hey guys.
I’m Nikki.
This is My Kitchen Sink.
Today I’ll be cooking Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken with rice and peas and plantains.
It’s a recipe I learned from my Auntie Sonya, but before we get started if you haven’t
already subscribe below.
I went to two different grocery stores for all the ingredients we’re gonna use today,
and roughly spent $27.
It’s something my grandmother use to always cook, but my aunt is the one who taught me how to cook it.
I’d call her and she’d be like, “You need to do this, that, x, y, z.
Carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, thyme.”
She’s the best.
She’s a great cook.
Right now we have a few pieces of chicken breast and chicken thigh, roasted garlic herbs,
Mrs. Dash, and some Lawry’s.
And I put a little thyme in to like, let it marinate and get all the good little juices
in all the little nooks and crannies in there to give like a flavorful punch.
I get my cooking inspiration from my family.
Any family meal for us is like a…
production.
Food is like our love language.
We’re also gonna add some thyme.
We’re gonna use way more than this because thyme is everything.
It has so much flavor and nothing should survive without thyme.
Cooking is very therapeutic for me.
It’s like, I like to come home, pour a glass of wine, and figure out what I’m gonna cook for the night.
The most I always keep in my fridge are herbs.
And just like, growing up in a Caribbean household, that’s like thyme is very, very important.
And on top of that, whether I’m cooking like a Caribbean meal, or just any kind of meal,
it just adds an extra flavorful punch.
When I’m cutting up the scallions I tend to cut this part off.
Um, I don’t know why, everyone in my family does it, but if you know why,
let us know in the comments.
Next, we’re going to fry the chicken.
I’m using both olive oil and canola oil.
My aunt taught me fry with both.
And then we’re gonna put the stove on medium high.
And once it starts bubbling a little bit, we’ll throw the chicken in.
Now that I put the chicken in, I’m gonna wash my hands.
Now we’re gonna move on to the rice and peas.
I’m gonna be very honest.
Nobody taught me anything about tea-
two teaspoons of this or one cup of that, like,
Caribbean people don’t cook like that.
They just cook.
I can’t really give you a measurement.
Sorry about that.
My aunt never gave me a measurement.
She’s just like, “You know, keep, keep, cooking until it tastes like x, y, and z.”
And I’m just like, that doesn’t help, but you know, that’s just how I’m gonna cook.
Coconut milk is like so important to rice and peas.
Might as well just add the beans now.
Ahh.
Seasoning salt.
Some more thyme cause thyme is in everything.
We will put this on the stove and let it like heat up for like 2 or 3 minutes and then after
that we’ll add the brown rice to it.
So, last but not least, is the plantains.
I like to buy my plantains a little beat up like this because in my mind, this is not
a scientific fact, no one has taught me this, but my tastebuds would attest to it, that
these are gonna be sweeter.
I’m usually good with just a half of plantains when you have-
All this other stuff happening.
We’re gonna go put the brown rice in now cause the pot should be warm.
And then we’re gonna put the plantains on and fry them.
I like to just like, poke the chicken to make sure the inside is actually really cooked.
And it’s like softening up because no one wants to eat raw stew chicken.
That’s gross.
We’re gonna add the carrots, the tomatoes, the scallions, the garlic, and of course
can't forget the thyme.
And then we’re gonna cover the pot and let it stew for like another 20, 30 minutes.
This is scotch bonnet pepper.
It’s like a really spicy pepper.
You literally have to watch it for 60 seconds cause if it pops, your mouth will be on fire.
Caribbean people always use scotch bonnet for everything.
The rice is basically done.
So we’re just gonna move the rice off the stove to the side and fry the plantain until
it’s golden brown.
I’m a clean freak so, don’t mind me.
This is my magic power you guys, cleaning while you’re cooking.
That’s something my mom taught me.
“Clean as you’re cooking and there’ll be less mess when you’re done.”
I don’t really give you guys too much numbers or instruction because I didn’t really get any.
You can tell that the chicken is ready is when it’s like nice and soft
and it's kinda like falling off the fork.
It smells so good.
What I love most about making Jamaican food is that it kinda just keeps me in touch with
my culture.
My cousins and I are first generation Americans and although we were heavily raised in a super,
super Jamaican household, it’s easy to be Americanized.
And although it’s great to be in a country where you have all these different cultures,
I want to make sure I keep apart of culture with me and my family.
And voilà.
Check out the full recipe in the description below.
Mmm.
Really good.
You ever cook something and then be like, “I can’t believe I cooked that.”
I might actually eat the whole thing.
Stew chicken just reminds me a lot of my grandma and all the times we’ve spent together,
and it’s like my favorite meal.
It feels very at home like,
it’s just my safe space.
Thanks for watching My Kitchen Sink.
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