By Melissa Pette

Our new friend Alicia Brown from Limón City, shares this delicious Caribbean-style chicken rice recipe with all of us.

Alicia tells us that the cuisine of the Limonenses (the demonym used for the people who live in that province) is influenced by their various ethnic groups, including Afro-Caribbean, Indigenous and European settlers. 

The Afro-Caribbean population has played a significant role in shaping the culture of the province. Many Afro-Caribbean people are descendants of Jamaican immigrants who came to Costa Rica in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to work on the construction of the railroad and in the banana plantations.

Limón is also home to Indigenous groups such as the Bribri and Cabécar.

"The food in Limón is known for its Caribbean flavors, with dishes such as rice and beans, jerk chicken, and coconut-based desserts being commonly enjoyed," Alicia said 

This traditional rice dish is cooked on every occasion. It is a mix of Costa Rican popular dishes with Filipino and Haitian cuisine. Aside from the Spanish ingredients, it has rice and coconut milk.

This popular meal is usually served for family parties, weddings or any other special occasions.

So, let's go to the kitchen!

The ingredients for five to eight people are: 

• 2 tablespoons of vegetable or sunflower oil.
• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed.
• 1 big white onion, cut into chunks.
• 3 boneless Chicken Breasts, cut into quarters.
• 2 pieces of chorizo, sliced.
• 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.
• 1 cup of precooked long-grain white rice.
• 1/ 2 tablespoons fish sauce.
• 3 cooked sausages, cut diagonally.
• 2 potatoes, cut into big chunks.
• 1 cup of chicken stock.
• 1 cup of coconut milk.
• 1/2 sweet red pepper, cut into chunks.
• 1/3 cup of raisins.
• 1/3 cup of green peas.

First, heat up a sauté pan and add the oil. Sauté the garlic until light brown, then add the onions. Cook until translucent but not soft.

Add the chicken pieces and the sliced chorizo. Stir.

When the chicken meat has changed color, add the tomato paste and the fish sauce. 

Stir until the tomato puree fully coats the chicken. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add the rice, sausages and potatoes. Then, add chicken stock and coconut milk and bring to a boil. 

When it is ready, turn the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes and add the raisins, peppers and green peas. Stir.

Now, preheat the oven to 300° F/ 150° C.

Transfer the chicken rice to an oven-proof dish.

Set this dish inside a bigger pan and add water to reach halfway up its sides.

Cover both pans tightly with foil.

Bake for an hour, stirring at half-time.

Serve hot, grab a cold beer and enjoy!

This Caribbean chicken rice recipe is very delicious and healthy. It is an all-in-one meal because everything is there, meat and rice in one.

Have a Pura Vida weekend!

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Find more amazing step-by-step Costa Rican food recipes on the AM Costa Rica Food & Good Eating website. You are invited to share your favorite recipes with a horizontal photo of the dish by emailing food@amcostarica.com