Seco de Pollo - Ecuadorian Chicken Stew
Transport your tastebuds to the beautiful Ecuador with Seco de Pollo, an aromatic chicken stew bursting with an abundance of fresh flavours. Seco de pollo is a very popular comfort food in South America, featuring succulent chicken pieces cooked in a perfectly seasoned tomato-pepper sauce, loaded with fresh herbs and spices.
Print Recipe
Save recipe
Equipment
- 1 large, lidded Dutch oven or heavy-based saucepan
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 kilogram chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil - for frying
- ½ red bell pepper - about 80g, diced into small cubes
- ½ bunch parsley - about 15g, finely chopped
- ½ bunch coriander (cilantro) - about 15g, finely chopped
For the sauce
- 2 large tomatoes - about 300g, roughly chopped
- ½ red bell pepper - about 80g, roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion - about 150g, roughly chopped
- 5 cloves garlic - roughly chopped
- ½ bunch parsley - about 15g
- ½ bunch coriander (cilantro) - about 15g
- ½ teaspoon chilli flakes - or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 200 millilitre light beer - pale, not dark beer
- 150 millilitre orange juice
Instructions
Prepare the chicken
- Add the cumin, paprika, brown sugar, salt and black pepper to the chicken pieces in a large bowl.1 teaspoon ground cumin, 2 teaspoons paprika, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 kilogram chicken thighs
- Using your hands, thoroughly rub the dry spice mixture into the chicken, coating all sides of each piece.
- Once the chicken is evenly covered in the rub, cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the fridge to marinate for one hour. Marinating allows the spices to permeate the chicken for enhanced flavour.
Make the sauce
- While the chicken marinates, prepare the Seco de Pollo sauce. Add all the sauce ingredients to a food processor or blender.½ red bell pepper, ½ bunch parsley, ½ bunch coriander (cilantro), 2 large tomatoes, 1 medium onion, 5 cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon chilli flakes, 200 millilitre light beer, 150 millilitre orange juice
- Process the ingredients together until you have a chunky sauce with no large pieces of any of the ingredients left. Set the sauce aside for now.
Prep the add-ins
- Dice and chop the reserved halves of the red bell pepper, the coriander and the parsley. Set aside.
Bringing it all together
- After marinating, remove the chicken from the fridge. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat.1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- Once hot, add the chicken pieces in a single layer and brown for 2-3 minutes per side. Browning builds flavour and allows the spices to further penetrate the chicken.
- Pour the blended sauce and diced red pepper into the pan with the browned chicken.½ red bell pepper
- Distribute the sauce evenly around the chicken using a spoon or spatula.
- Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer then immediately reduce the heat to low to maintain a steady simmer.
- Cover the pot tightly with a lid.
- Allow the Seco de Pollo to cook covered for 50 minutes to 1 hour until the chicken is very tender when pierced.
- Check for seasoning and add more if needed. If the sauce is too thin for your liking, remove the chicken pieces and simmer the sauce uncovered to reduce the liquid. If the sauce is too thick, stir in more orange juice or water until it reaches the consistency you prefer. Return the chicken to pot once adjusted.
- Add the remaining halves of the coriander and parsley and stir through with the sauce and chicken.½ bunch parsley, ½ bunch coriander (cilantro)
- Serve the Seco de Pollo immediately over rice with your favourite accompaniments while piping hot.
Notes
Marinating the chicken
Marinate the chicken in the spice rub for at least 1 hour for the most flavour infusion. Overnight is even better!Browning the chicken
Make sure to brown the chicken pieces well before adding the other ingredients. Browning builds tons of flavour. Visually, browned chicken pieces also look more attractive.Simmering the stew
Once simmering, use a low, gentle heat to prevent scorching or over-reducing the sauce. This is especially important if you are not using a heavy, cast iron Dutch oven or a saucepan with a thick, heavy base. Cookware with thinner bases conducts heat more intensely and directly to the stew. This intense heat exposure can lead to rapid reduction and potential burning or sticking on the pan bottom.Monitoring sauce levels
Keep an eye on the sauce as it simmers. Following on from above, a thin-based saucepan will make the stew cook faster with a more direct heat, which could cause the sauce to reduce quicker. If the sauce is too thin for your liking, remove the chicken pieces and simmer the sauce uncovered to reduce the liquid. If the sauce is too thick/dry, stir in more orange juice or water until it reaches the consistency you prefer. Return the chicken to the pot once adjusted.Adding Herbs
Only add the remaining fresh herbs at the end of the cooking process. This preserves their bright, aromatic qualities.
**Nutritional data disclaimer**
Please keep in mind that the nutritional information provided below is calculated by a third party and we cannot guarantee the accuracy. We try our best to give you the most accurate information, but we do not take responsibility for errors that may be present. Also, the nutritional value of the recipe may change depending on the exact brands and products used. We recommend that you consult with a qualified healthcare professional or registered dietitian for personalised advice on your dietary needs.
Nutrition
Calories: 699kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 43g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 245mg | Sodium: 809mg | Potassium: 1081mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 3883IU | Vitamin C: 93mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 4mg
