A taste of home: Pork Pelau

For me Pelau should be the national dish of Trinidad and Tobago, but I don't get to make that call :) This one pot wonder is an excellent way to get lunch/dinner on the table in under an hour. Recipes being what they are are excellent guides but to get this just right, you will need to experiment a bit - no two pelau are alike and there is rarely a bad one to be found. :)

Ingredients:
light brown sugar
vegetable oil
2 cans of pigeon peas/gandules
4 cups of rice
salt
black pepper
green seasoning
cumin
3-4 lbs cubed meat (chicken, beef or pork)

Optional:
Coconut milk
habanero pepper
tomato

Directions:
1. Season the cubed meat with the green seasoning and let sit for at least 20 minutes. (I use a Ziploc bag for this)

2. cover the bottom of the pot with a small amount of oil, then add just enough sugar to absorb the oil. I use a medium high heat to then "brown" the sugar - (refers to the caramelization).

3. Quickly add the seasoned meat to the caramelized sugar and stir properly to coat each piece. Then cover and let the meat cook.

4. Add salt and black pepper to taste and pigeon peas, tomatoes, habanero pepper (do not let it burst if you do not like very spicy food) and other desired veggies can be added here.

5. Add rice a few minutes later and either coconut milk or water to cook the rice. Remember that there is already liquid in the pot, so estimate and adjust the amount of liquid to be added based on rice package. (Do not use instant rice).

6. Once the rice has cooked the dish is done. Enjoy :)

I had the benefit of using our home grown pork for this recipe (pictured above) and it was delicious. AR had thirds and Fourths, lol. It was a big hit, I have some more pre-seasoned meat in the freezer so I will make it again. :)