RECIPES / CARIBBEAN COOKING

Trinidad Beef Pelau with Green Seasoning

A home-scaled Trinidad beef pelau adapted from the Tropical Krave restaurant recipe, with caramelised beef, pigeon peas, coconut milk, vegetables, rice and BackYard Blendz Original Green Seasoning.

PREP

20 mins

COOK

75 mins

YIELD

5–6 servings

CUISINE

Trinidad & Tobago

HEAT

None

Ingredients

2 lb stewing beef or chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
¼ cup onion, finely chopped
¼ cup tomato, diced
2 tbsp BackYard Blendz Original Green Seasoning
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tbsp vegetable oil
¼ cup brown sugar
2 cups butternut squash, cut into medium cubes
1 medium carrot, cut into medium pieces
1 can green pigeon peas, drained and rinsed
1 cup coconut milk
½ cup water to begin, plus more as needed
2 tbsp fresh thyme leaves, or 4–5 thyme sprigs
2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed and drained
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, only if needed

Method

Marinate the beef Combine the beef with the onion, tomato, BackYard Blendz Original Green Seasoning, soy sauce and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
Caramelise the sugar Heat the oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and allow it to melt, bubble and deepen to a very dark amber colour. Move quickly once it becomes frothy so it does not burn.
Brown the beef Carefully add the marinated beef and all of its marinade to the pot. Stir well to coat in the caramelised sugar and cook for 5–7 minutes.
Tenderise the beef Add the butternut squash, carrot, pigeon peas, coconut milk, ½ cup water and thyme. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently until the beef is becoming tender, adding a little more water as needed so the pot does not dry out.
Add the rice Stir in the rinsed rice. Add enough additional hot water so the liquid sits just above the rice and ingredients. Taste the cooking liquid and add salt only if needed.
Cook the pelau Bring to a gentle boil, reduce the heat to low and cover tightly. Cook for approximately 20–25 minutes, until the rice is tender and the liquid has been absorbed.
Rest and serve Remove from the heat and leave covered for 10 minutes. Fluff gently, taste and adjust the seasoning before serving.

BackYard Blendz Chef Notes

This home recipe is scaled from the Tropical Krave restaurant batch rather than rebuilt from scratch. The restaurant recipe uses 1 cup onion, 1 cup tomato, ½ cup green seasoning, 1 cup soy sauce, 1 butternut squash, 3 carrots, 4 small cans pigeon peas, 1 litre coconut milk, ½ litre water and ½ cup thyme. The home version is approximately one quarter of that batch.

The original restaurant document does not state a usable beef weight. The 2 lb home quantity is inferred from the scaled green-seasoning ratio and the overall batch architecture.

The original Beef Pelau entry also omits the rice quantity. Two cups of long-grain rice is a home-scale reconstruction that fits the quarter-batch meat, pigeon peas and coconut milk. Final cooking liquid is therefore adjusted by pot level rather than forced into a rigid measurement.

Watch the sugar closely. Pelau needs a deep caramel colour, but burnt sugar will make the finished dish bitter.

For a peppery version, substitute BackYard Blendz Spicy Green Seasoning for Original without changing the rest of the method.

Made with BackYard Blendz

BackYard Blendz Original Green Seasoning

The fresh seasoning at the heart of this recipe. Explore the product, see the ingredients and add it to your kitchen.

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