Dominican Pollo Guisado: Stewed Chicken with Soy Sauce & Sugar
- March 2023
- By Belqui Ortiz-Millili
- Recipe from Dominican Republic
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Pollo guisado was one of Familia Kitchen co-founder Kim’s favorite meals growing up in Puerto Rico. “I love how the braised tender meat slid off the bone of the chicken (usually thigh, although I secretly preferred white meat, which is pretty much a sin on the island). The savory sauce the pollo simmers in was a delicacy we savored, spooning it generously over the mandatory side of freshly steamed white rice. Add sweet plantain maduros, a slice of avocado sprinkled with salt and olive oil — and you are living la vida deliciosa, Boricua-style,” she says.
Chicken is a big deal at Familia Kitchen. Pollo recipes are usually the top performers, and among our most searched.
So you can imagine all of us at Familia Kitchen were pretty intrigued when we first learned this stewed chicken staple is cooked slightly differently in the other Caribbean Latino place that loves this dish as much as Puerto Ricans. We’re talking the Latino nation a couple hundred miles to the west. That’s right, Puerto Rico’s neighbor: Dominican Republic. The D.R.
Belqui Millili-Ortiz of the popular cooking blog Belqui’s Twist is one of Familia Kitchen’s favorite Dominican homecooks, so who better to ask? She is a humble person, usually. But not when it comes to this recipe. “My pollo guisado honestly is one of the most amazing-tasting chicken dishes I have ever had in my life,” Belqui tells me. “This is the way that I grew up cooking pollo guisado, and it’s the recipe I cook for all my non-Dominican friends because I know they will be super-impressed. So much so, that it is the top-requested dish when they come to visit. So that goes to tell you something!”
Belqui grew up in Washington Heights, a historically Dominican neighborhood in New York City (it’s where Lin-Manuel Miranda set his beautiful musical In the Heights). Her parents both worked long hours at factory jobs, so she took on cooking dinner for the family from a young age. Pollo guisado is one of her mom’s family recipes she made sure to get down pretty early on, she remembers. It was one of her favorites.
Here’s how the Dominican version of pollo guisado differs from the Puerto Rican classic I grew up loving. For one, the stew calls for 1 tsp of soy sauce, an ingredient you never see in traditional Puerto Rican recipes. It uses tomato paste, not that little can of tomato sauce with “Spanish”-style spices we mix into everything. It does not use sofrito. And, it adds 1 Tbsp of white sugar.
“Yes! Sugar helps give that golden color to the chicken because when you put sugar in hot oil, it caramelizes. The color it gives the chicken is amazing,” says Belqui.
“I also make a pan-seared version of this recipe with all white meat,” she adds. ”It is how I cook this dish most of the time, because I have a ton of white-meat lovers at my house. But I always prefer this version combining dark and white, using the whole chicken. I love how the dark meat absorbs so much flavor from the adobo and other spices. I also love having the choice of using drumsticks, wings and/or thighs, because I love me a good thigh!”
When I make Belqui’s family-famous pollo guisado, I will start with this whole-chicken recipe. But I’m betting right now I’ll probably end up (just like the rest of her family) favoring the white-meat version. Sacrilege, I know. Then again, this version looks exceptionally rico. Using soy sauce likely sweetens and breaks down the thighs and drumsticks to savory deliciousness. Maybe I’ll reconsider and stay on the dark side.
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Suggestions and questions from our readers
I lived in Barahona and La Romana Dominican Republic for 4 years back in the early 80’s. Since that time, I have desperately tried to find recipes for basic Dominican dishes. I am more than thrilled to have stumbled upon Belqui Ortiz-Millili’s recipes.
Here is my actual question. When she refers to ‘Adobo”, what exactly is she referring to? Also, she refers to “Adobo Seasoning”, but again, I’m not sure to what she is referencing? I currently have and use Goya Adobo All Purpose Seasoning (con Pimiento)…perhaps that is the Adobo Seasoning? I also have and use Sazon Goya (con Culantro Y Achiote), is this any of the seasonings she is referring to?
I greatly appreciate any assistance you can provide and when you see Ms. Belqui, please thank her for putting out those recipes…can’t wait to try the Pollo Guisado as well. Help and God Bless! Bart
This pregunta came in from a reader. We will ask Belqui and get right back with an answer, Bart… un segundito porfavor. Ya volvemos.
Hi Bart, we just heard back from Belqui. She says muchas gracias for your great q (she loves talking about adobo and sazon, she says). “Hi! The adobo used in this recipe is the powdered kind like the Goya that you mention. Sazon is also granular and it’s normally used to add color to the food and a bit more flavor. Sazon I use more for color. I make my own if I run out.” Here is a link to Belqui’s own recipe for sazon and adobo.
https://belquistwist.com/latin-dry-all-purpose-adobo-seasoning-sazon/