Puerto Rican Pollo Guisado(Braised Chicken Stew)

Pollo guisado (chicken stew) is commonly associated with Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, but it's also a staple throughout Central and South America. Most versions include juicy and moist chicken braised in chicken broth and/or tomato sauce and flavored with onions, garlic, and herbs, but each country, or cook, adds or removes ingredients to adjust it to their personal taste and the availability of produce. Some have potatoes, others have carrots, some have both but also peas and corn.

Our recipe delivers the delicious Puerto Rican version, famous for the addition of green olives and the use of sofrito—an aromatic staple in Hispanic cuisine that takes on multiples forms depending on the origin. This recipe's fall-off-the-bone chicken will delight your family, plus it's a budget-friendly dish in which you can use any chicken cut, from breasts to wings or thighs. Slow braising makes the chicken very tender, helps to reduce the sauce to a perfect texture, and concentrates the flavors.

Sancocho

The Ingredients You'll Need to Make a Delicious Pollo Guisado

Most of the ingredients will not be hard to come by in your average American supermarket. Some, such as culantro—known as recao for Puerto Ricans and similar to but not the same as cilantro—are worth seeking out. Here are the most important ingredients you'll need.

• Chicken: We recommend using bone-in pieces with the skin, as they release more flavor into the cooking liquid.
• Adobo Seasoning: The aromatic spice blend adobo seasoning contains garlic, oregano, black pepper, and turmeric, among other ingredients. In this recipe it's used to season the chicken before cooking.
• Tomato Sauce and Chicken Broth: These two ingredients combine to make a flavorful liquid to braise the chicken.
• Culantro: Culantro's flavor is more intense than cilantro and it holds up in long braises and stews, which is why it works well here. Hispanic bodegas or specialty stores might carry culantro on occasion.
• Pimento Olives: Green olives stuffed with pimentos stud this stew, providing bursts of tangy flavor.
• Achiote Oil: Achiote oil is made from annatto seeds and olive oil and is used to add flavor and a lovely yellow color to many dishes.
• Sofrito: Sofrito is a fragrant puree that's a key building block for many Puerto Rican dishes, including this one. It keeps well in the fridge or freezer, so consider making a big batch for this and other recipes.

How to Serve Pollo Guisado

Serve this dish over rice and beans, white rice, or yellow rice with corn. Alternatively, fry some tostones and serve the stew with the plantains and slices of avocado.