Pollo Guisado

by Isaac Chavez

The Story

After a long day of school, I came home feeling tired and hungrier than ever. I opt for a nap when I get home to relax. When I woke up, my stomach grumbled. I am immediately filled with the scent of garlic and onions. I get out of bed and head to the kitchen to observe my mom standing over the stove top, stirring around something in a pan. I walk over to her and admire what she’s cooking. Pollo Guisado (Chicken Stew) is one of my favorite dishes. She tells me that I woke up at the right time because dinner was almost ready. I sit at the table and am eventually served a plate full of rice with chicken and a somewhat red marinade on it. I don’t question anything and begin to devour the food in front of me. While I’m eating, my mom looks at me and says, “What a blessing is in front of you. When I was younger, I never had a plate as big as yours. We were so poor that we had to share a single egg amongst 2 people for a meal.” I was too shocked to speak, so I didn’t respond, and eventually continued to eat the plate in front of me. This comment sat with me for years. It was hard to wrap my head around the life my mother lived in the mountains of Honduras. When I later asked my mother how often she ate Pollo Guisado in Honduras, she laughed and said, “The few times we had extra money.” This would immediately click in my head, and I then understood what my mom had told me when I was younger.

For my mom, there was no waking up to the smell of food being cooked in the kitchen. After a long day in the mountains, trying to find any source of income, either by selling fruits and vegetables or helping neighbors with tasks. My mom would come home and admire her mother while she cooked whatever was available. Typical meals were rice and beans or eggs with tortillas. Just surviving another day was my mom's biggest goal. Occasionally, my mom would come home to smell garlic and onions filling the room. She would then see her mother standing over the stove top, stirring something in a pan. She would walk over and admire her mother's cooking. Pollo Guisado, a delicacy in their household. She then knew it was a special occasion. Did she forget it was someone's birthday? Was it an important holiday? Did her mother win the lottery? Nonetheless, my mother was happily served a plate of rice with chicken with a red marinade.

My mom and I lived opposite lives, but we shared one big thing in common. The joy we felt seeing our mothers cooking our favorite dish, Pollo Guisado. While I might have experienced the joy of eating this dish more often than my mom, we both held value in the dish. We both absorbed the comforting smell of the food being prepared and knew our mothers were treating us to something nice.

The Ingredients

• 5 tbsp of any oil
• 2 lbs. of any chicken cut
• 2 tbsp of chicken-flavor bouillon seasoning
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp of oregano
• 1 tbsp of onion powder
• Small can of tomato sauce
• Half an onion
• 11 oz of rice
• Salt

The Recipe

Pollo Guisado Recipe:

1. 2 tbsp of any oil in the pan
2. Turn the stove on high heat
3. Place 2lbs of any chicken cut into the pan (no bones)
4. Add 2 tbsp of chicken-flavor bouillon seasoning
5. Add 1 tbsp of onion
6. Add 1 tbsp of cumin
7. Add 1 tbsp of oregano
8. Add a small can of tomato sauce
9. Cut half an onion into small pieces and place it in the pan
10. Mix and stir well once all ingredients are added
11. Add 6oz of water to the dish
12. Add a sprinkle of salt to the dish
13. Let sit with the lid for 25-45 minutes

Rice:

1. Add 3tbsp of any oil to the pot
2. Add 11oz of rice (wash beforehand)
3. Stir on setting 8
4. Add enough water so that the rice is covered in water
5. Place the lid and let it sit for 12 minutes
6. Only stir occasionally and make sure to scrape the sides of the pot.