Dominican chicken sancocho
90 min · 41 g protein · 532 cals / serving
The stew Dominican families make on rainy Sundays and for every celebration: chicken marinated in lime, garlic, oregano and cilantro, simmered with yuca, green plantain, sweet squash and rounds of corn on the cob until the squash melts and the broth turns thick, golden and deeply savoury. Ladle it into deep bowls with slices of avocado, lime and a shake of hot sauce.
Ingredients
Chicken
- 1 lb 2 oz chicken thigh, in 4 cm (1 1/2-inch) pieces
- 1 lb 2 oz chicken breast, in 4 cm (1 1/2-inch) pieces
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 6 cloves garlic, mashed
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, divided
- 2 tsp canola oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 medium bell pepper, green, chopped
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 6 1/4 cups chicken broth
- 4 cups water
- 1 1/2 lb butternut squash, peeled, in 4 cm (1 1/2-inch) chunks (auyama)
- 2/3 lb cassava, yuca, peeled, in 4 cm (1 1/2-inch) chunks (frozen is fine)
- 1 green plantain underripe plantains, peeled, in 2.5 cm (1-inch) rounds
- 2 ears corn on the cob, in 4 cm (1 1/2-inch) rounds
To serve
- 1 small avocado, sliced
- 1 lime, in wedges
- 2 tsp cayenne pepper hot sauce, to taste (optional)
Steps
- Toss the chicken with the lime juice, garlic, oregano, half the cilantro and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Marinate 30 minutes, or up to a day in the fridge.
- Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken in two batches, 4 minutes each, then add the onion, pepper and celery and cook 5 minutes until soft.
- Pour in the broth and water and add half the squash. Bring to a boil and simmer, partly covered, 15 minutes; this squash will melt and thicken the broth.
- Add the yuca, plantain, corn and the rest of the squash and simmer 25–30 minutes, until the yuca is tender and the first squash has dissolved into a thick, golden broth. Mash a few pieces of squash against the side of the pot if you like it thicker.
- Taste for salt, stir in the rest of the cilantro and simmer 2 minutes. The chicken is long past 165°F and should be tender enough to break with a spoon.
- Ladle into deep bowls and serve with avocado, lime wedges and hot sauce.
Good to know
Isn't sancocho made with seven meats?
Sancocho de siete carnes, with beef, pork, goat, sausages and chicken, is the party version. Sancocho de pollo, with chicken alone, is what most families cook on an ordinary Sunday.
Where do I find yuca and green plantain?
Latin and Caribbean grocers sell both, and most supermarkets keep frozen peeled yuca. Ñame or taro are traditional too; potatoes can stand in for any of them.
Do I need rice with it?
Many Dominicans serve a little white rice alongside to spoon into the stew, but with yuca, plantain and corn in the pot it is a full meal on its own.
Per
- Calories
- 63
- Protein
- (31%)
- 5 g
- Fat
- (22%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (46%)
- 8 g
- of which sugar
- 1 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 206 mg
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Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 3191 kcal goes into the pot and 5727 g of ingredients comes out as about 5100 g of food: 63 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.