Feb 01 2008
Seco de pollo ecuatoriano or Ecuadorian chicken stew
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Published by Laylita at 2:50 pm under All, Comfort food, Kid friendly, Main dishes, Poultry, South America
This chicken stew is another delicious recipe from Ecuador, it is one of dishes that you crave on a day when you want a nice home cooked meal that not only satisfies your stomach but also makes you happy overall. This dish is also known as seco de gallina criolla, if it is made with a young chicken it is called seco de pollo and if it is made with an older hen it is called seco de gallina criolla. Traditionally it was a way to cook those older tougher hens and soften the meat but cooking it slowly in a sauce of onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes, herbs and spices, the traditional preparation also uses chicha – a fermented corn drink – instead of beer, most people today prepare it with beer because it is much easier to find and tastes great. Seco de pollo is an easy recipe to make but it is time consuming mainly because the chicken has to cook for a long time, I made a lot of it, enough to serve at least 10 people, so if you are cooking for a smaller crowd you might want to half the recipe, this will also reduce the cooking time. Seco de pollo is always served with arroz amarillo or yellow rice -just add some achiote to the rice preparation -and fried ripe plantains. Those are the two must have sides; I like to also serve it with avocado slices, a small salad, and in this case some whole potatoes sauteed in butter.
Ingredients:
6 lbs of assorted chicken pieces
6 tbs canola oil
2 red onions, quartered
½ red onion, minced for refrito
10 whole garlic gloves plus 4 minced garlic cloves
2 tsp ground achiote or annatto
4 cups of beer
8 tomatoes, quartered
3 bell peppers, quartered
1 hot pepper (jalapeno or serrano)
1 bunch cilantro, reserve some to add at the end
1 bunch parsley, reserve some to add at the end
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
Sides
Whole potatoes sauteed in butter
Avocado slices
Pickled radish salad or any other small salad
Preparation:
- Blend the beer, quartered onions, whole garlic cloves, tomatoes, bell peppers, hot pepper, cilantro, parsley, oregano and cumin to obtain a smooth puree.
- In a large saucepan or soup pot heat the oil over medium heat to prepare a refrito or sofrito, add the minced red onion, minced garlic and achiote, cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken and brown lightly on each side, add the blended puree mix, and cook on low heat until the chicken is very tender and the sauce has thickened, about 2 ½ hours.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the remaining cilantro and parsley.
- Serve with arroz amarillo or yellow rice and fried ripe plantains. Can also be served with avocado slices, whole potatoes sauteed in butter and a small salad.
La receta en español del seco de pollo esta aqui.
This one is a must-try. Seems like a perfect home-cooked chicken dish, for those days when we’re in need of great comfort.
What kind of beer should one use? Dark or light?
Hi Thalia – I use either something light or medium, a pilsner type beer is typically used in Ecuador. I’ve made it with Corona, Hoegaarden white beer, Stella and also with Heineken (but this last one was slightly on the bitter side).
Hi Laylita – I made the chicken stew using corona and it was delicious, I had made chicken stew before but never with beer. My husband and the boys loved it. I served it with yellow rice and fried sweet plantains. When my mom comes to visit next time I’ll make it for her. She never used beer to make stew. I already tried your recipes for ceviche de camaron, carne en palito y menestra de lenteja, and everything was delicious. I LOVED the ceviche. Just like the ones I used to eat in Salinas. Thanks for your great recipes! I refered your website to my sister and she’s very excited about it, she also already made carne en palito. When she visits me next time we will make ceviche the pescado for the both of us. Our american husbands find it too acidic for their taste. I hope that if you have a good recipe for caldo de bola, you post it soon. Bye!
hi Layla,
I made this dish last night, and it was amazing. Even my cats went crazy for it. I have tried many recipes from the Food Network, and magazines, and you never know what you are going to end up with–your recipes are right on, they taste incredible. When my partner was flattering my cooking, i said to him, i wish i could take credit for this, but it isn’t my recipe. I told him about you. Anyways, thanks again.
maria
p.s. my next recipe was supposed to be Guatita, but i can’t find a spanish meat place. I’ll keep looking.
Hi Layla,
)) Thank you! and keep em coming!
Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe… I made it last night for my family and boyfriend and they loved it, also did a twist on it and took the chicken off the bone, so shredded chicken basically and mixed it with spaghetti pasta and it came out real yummy! My mom, originally from Ecuador was very impressed! she won’t admit it but maybe it was even a little better than hers…. haha
Wow! The flavor is incredible. My Ecuadorean Grandmother used to make this dish when I was little. She is still alive but no longer cooks like she used to. I am so thankful to have found this recipe. The taste brings back so many memories!
How can I incorporate naranjilla into this recipe? I have frozen concentrate
Mari – Just replace some of the beer with the naranjilla juice.
Hi Laylita! My girlfriend and I tried this over the weekend, to eat with football. I made it with Corona, and it came out spectacular. I also added a touch of my own: Chunky tomatoes and mushrooms, added right near the end of the cooking process. I look forward to trying just about everything on your site!
Laylita-
I literally JUST finished eating this dish, with the arroz amarillo and platanos masduro as you suggested, and it was DELICIOUS! My ex-boyfriend is from Ecuador, and his mother made this stew for me one day and I fell in love with it. Now I can make it myself. Very good!
There are many delicious dishes from this unique country and honestly this is one of the top 5 in my book
I just made Seco de Pollo and my husband LOVED IT!
My sister, a self-proclaimed carishina, raved about your site because it helps even the lesser-gifted home cooks surprise everyone with mouth-watering renditions of the foods we so love from Ecuador. I have several specialized books on the subject, but none ever mentioned beer on seco de pollo. I am sure this dish will be exquisite.
muchisimas gracias mi senora cosina muy rico, ahora con sus recetas yo le estoy haciendo competencia pero al fin de la cena ella dice k le falta algo.
Pero mis hijas se comen todo y difrutan de lo que estoy cosinando
grscias!
I never cooked more than arroz con huevo but yesterday I made seco de chivo and today I prepared seco de pollo yummy q rico my husband loved it. Thanks
Hola Laylita,
I am so glad I found your website. Your recipes look very authentic. I used to live in Ecuador and miss it very much. Do you have an idea for a beer substitute in this recipe? Would chicken broth work? My parents don’t allow it in the house even for cooking. Also… Do you have a recipe for Caldo de Bagre?
Thanks!!!!!!!!!
Hi Rebekah – you can use chicken broth as a substitute, you could also use naranjilla juice (if you can find it) or chicha. I will post a recipe for caldo de bagre in the next few months.
I love this site! I grew up in Guayaquil and now that I live in the States I miss the food immensely. I would always forget little things in the recipes, but now I can make them just like we did at home! Muchisimas gracias de mi parte y de parte de mis amigos q’ comen conmigo!
My husband is Ecuadorian and Seco de Pollo is his favorite dish. I’m sooooooo happy that you have this and a lot of other Ecuadorian recipes on your site. This is great!!!!!!! I’ve already made the aji criollo and the pickled onions…they turned out wonderful !!!!! Thank you!!!
Laylita, Thank you soo much for this recipe. It may have saved my marraige. My husband is Ecuadorian and I am a southern girl who has mastered southern cuisne but not South American cusine. For the first time ever he was impressed! I have tried other recipes but they have failed to satisfy him. He cleaned his plate last night…. I am forever in debted to you.
Thank you Laylita for this wonderful recipe! I have spent a lot of time in Guayaquil as my boyfriend lives there. His mom made this dish for me several times and I loved it! I was craving it the other day and found this website and recipe so I decided to make it for my mom and dad. They both loved it and it came out delicious! I told my boyfriend and now he can’t wait for me to make it for him next time he is here. We are planning on getting married next year and for him to move here to the States, so it’s important that I know how to cook some of his favorite Ecuadorian food! I want him to feel at home and comfortable here. After I told him about the success of the seco de pollo, he jokingly asked me when was I going to learn how to make ceviche de camaron. I told him that would be my next venture, as I’ve already found the recipe for it on here. Can’t wait to try it! Thank you again!!
This is the best ever. I add potatoes to mine. This is one of my favorite dishes. You can’t go wrong.
I even use the sauce to bake a porks legs. It’s really good.
I learned a dish almost exactly like this, but it had additional ingredients of a few tsp of prepared mustard soy sauce. Does this sound familiar to anyone? It’s from mi abuelita from Junin Ecuador, God Bless her!