Seco de Pollo

Ecuador's chicken braised in a tomato and pepper refrito with beer or chicha, coriander and cumin, served with rice and fried plantain

Origin: Guayaquil & the Ecuadorian Coast

From the journey of Tomato.

Seco means dry, which is the first confusing thing about a dish that arrives in a bowl of sauce. The name refers to the braise being reduced rather than soupy, and the Ecuadorian and northern Peruvian secos are all built the same way: a refrito of onion, tomato, pepper, garlic, cumin, and achiote cooked down hard, meat browned into it, and a fermented or alcoholic liquid poured over for the long cooking. That liquid is the argument. The oldest versions use chicha de jora, the maize beer of the Andes, which is mildly sour and slightly sweet and gives the sauce a fermented depth. Bottled lager took its place in most urban kitchens through the twentieth century, and a good many Ecuadorian cooks now use beer with a squeeze of naranjilla or orange juice to restore the acidity that the chicha supplied. Any of the three is defensible and cooks are not shy about saying which they prefer. The tomato and pepper refrito is the body of the sauce and it needs proper cooking down. Ecuadorian cooks take it well past the point where it looks ready, until the mixture darkens, the water has gone, and the oil separates and pools at the edge of the pan. That separation is the visual signal, and a refrito stopped short leaves the finished sauce thin and raw-tasting. Coriander goes in at both ends: a good handful blended into the braising liquid, and more scattered fresh at the finish. It is served with white rice, fried ripe plantain, avocado, and a spoonful of raw onion salsa, and in Ecuador the same treatment is given to goat, in which form it is seco de chivo and is the dish of a celebration.

Ingredients

Chicken

  • 1.5 kg chicken thighs and drumsticks on the bone
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
  • 1 tbsp ground cumin

To cook

  • 4 tbsp achiote oil

Refrito

  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 6 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 1 red pepper, finely chopped
  • 1 green pepper, finely chopped
  • 8 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 tsp dried oregano

Braise

  • 330 ml chicha de jora or lager
  • 200 ml chicken stock
  • 1 large bunch coriander, stalks and leaves separated
  • 1 orange, juiced

To serve

  • 2 ripe plantains, sliced
  • 400 g long-grain rice, cooked
  • 1 avocado, sliced
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced and rinsed

Method

  1. Season the chicken with the salt, pepper, and half the cumin and leave it for fifteen minutes.
  2. Brown the pieces in the achiote oil in a wide heavy pan, in batches, and set them aside.
  3. In the same fat, soften the onions and both peppers for twelve minutes, then add the garlic, oregano, and the rest of the cumin.
  4. Add the tomatoes and cook the refrito down for fifteen to twenty minutes.
  5. Keep going until the mixture has darkened and the oil separates and pools at the edge. That separation is the signal, and stopping before it leaves the sauce thin and raw.
  6. Blend the coriander stalks with the beer or chicha and pour it into the pan, scraping the base.
  7. Return the chicken with any juices, add the stock, and bring to a simmer.
  8. Cover and cook gently for forty minutes, turning the pieces once, until the chicken is tender and the sauce has reduced and thickened.
  9. Uncover for the last ten minutes if the sauce is still loose. A seco should coat the chicken rather than pool round it.
  10. Stir in the orange juice and taste for salt.
  11. Fry the plantain slices until caramelised, and rinse the sliced red onion under cold water to take its edge off.
  12. Scatter the coriander leaves over the pan and serve with rice, plantain, avocado, and the raw onion.

Notes

Cook the refrito until the oil separates; this is the single step that decides the dish. Chicha de jora is the traditional braising liquid and is sold by Andean grocers, but lager with a squeeze of orange is what most Ecuadorian kitchens now use and is entirely acceptable. Coriander stalks go into the blend and the leaves go on at the end. Reduce until the sauce clings, since a seco is by definition not a soup. The same method with goat gives seco de chivo, in which case allow two and a half hours of braising.

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