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Trinidadian Rice Pelau with Diana & her roommates


Diana always cooks for a large group just in case someone drops in, a practice she brought with her from her home country of Trinidad: “I usually cook for minimum five people. And even if I have two or three people in that house, you always expect somebody, somebody can show up. That's how the people in the islands are.” She demonstrated this practice when we visited her and her three roommates in her Colorado Springs home; she prepared several dishes, including potato salad, macaroni pie, stewed chicken, callaloo greens, and green salad to accompany the main recipe she taught us: rice pelau. She explained, “If you go to Trinidad and you have the right family, they'll take you in and feed you <laugh>. They just pick up strange people and they take them home and feed them” - and she certainly fed us.

When Diana first moved to the U.S., she found it difficult to track down the ingredients she needed to make Trinidadian cuisine. Back home, she remembers passing by food stands and taking in all the smells, whereas in American markets, she was surprised by the lack of aroma. Over time, she has learned where to find the ingredients she needs (such as malanga at the Asian Pacific Market, or yucca at Safeway), and to swap items out.

Diana’s cooking is greatly influenced by her international family history. Diana’s great-grandparents were from India and they arrived in Trinidad as indentured servants. She explained that Caribbean cuisine is influenced by the many cultures that make up the islands’ populations. She first learned to cook when she was about 10 or 12 years old when her mother taught her to make roti, and she continued cooking for her large family as a teenager. In the U.S., she sees cooking and sharing meals as an opportunity to share her culture with others: “I think cooking together is a cross-cultural thing…Yeah. I think anytime you want to win somebody over, you feed them <laugh>.”

As she demonstrate how to make rice pelau, she enlisted her three roommates who were participating in the interview to chop, dice, and stir ingredients. Her roommate explained that they learn a lot about her culture through sharing meals with her: I've eaten a lot of things I've never heard of since meeting Diana and they've all been good!




Trinidadian Rice Pelau Recipe

Servings: 10 people
Time: 60-75 minutes (plus 1 hour or more of marinating time)

Ingredients:

  • 4 lbs chicken pieces (whichever pieces you want!), washed and drained
  • 1 lemon or lime
  • 6 tsp green seasoning
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 4 tbsp ketchup
  • hot pepper to taste
  • salt and pepper to season chicken
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • ½ cup brown sugar
  • 4 scallions, chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 3 cups parboiled rice, washed and drained
  • 1 can pigeon peas rinsed and drained
  • 1 medium carrot, diced
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 10 thyme springs, chopped
  • 1 can coconut milk, diluted with three cups hot water
  • additional salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

  • Prepare chicken: cut into 2-inch pieces. Wash with the juice of a lime/lemon and several changes of water. Drain well.
  • Add half of the green seasoning to the chicken, plus half of the onion, all of the garlic, the ketchup, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well to coat. Marinate for at least an hour or overnight.
  • Heat oil in a dry large deep heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add sugar and allow to froth and darken.
  • Immediately add chicken, stirring frequently to coat– about 5 minutes. Stir in scallions, the rest of the onion and green seasoning, and celery. Cover and cook until about two thirds cooked, stirring occasionally (about 12-15 minutes).
  • Rinse and drain rice. Then add it to the pot along with pigeon peas, carrots, peppers, and thyme. Stir and cook for just a few minutes (3-5).
  • Add coconut milk and hot water. The liquid should cover the existing ingredients by about an inch.
  • Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to simmer and cover pot tightly. Cook for about 30 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked. Stir occasionally to avoid sticking.
  • Season with salt and pepper to taste.