Brown-Stewed Chicken with Rice and Peas 　チキンのブラウンシチューとライスアンドピーズ

Brown-Stewed Chicken with Rice and Peas

This is the first installment in this new series which is aimed at introducing Japanese to “Soul Foods” of Jamaica, which many of us have never experienced but they are really worth trying.

Burchell Alexander McPherson (affectionately called Bishop Mac or Bishop Burchell) is one of Jamaica’s three Roman Catholic Bishops. He heads the Montego Bay Diocese. Bishop Mac is from humble beginnings and is the first Jamaican of a working class background to become a Roman Catholic Bishop in Jamaica. As a very close family friend, Bishop Mac is like an uncle to me.

As a child, Bishop Mac was born and raised in a small farming community called Halls Delight nestled in the Blue Mountains. Halls delight located about 7 km from the World’s famous Mavis Bank Blue Mountain Coffee Factory, is one of the main bread baskets of Kingston. Halls Delight is a very close community in East Rural St. Andrew. The people there are very friendly, warm, caring, kind, and love to open their homes to everyone – even people they do not know. This was especially true when Bishop Mac was a child.

In our conversation, Bishop Mac had fond memories of many of the delicious foods and fruits he grew up on such as “Callaloo or Ackee and Saltfish.” In the summer Jamaicans often skip meals because of mangoes. Bishop Burchell’s favourites were Stringy, Blackey, Number 11 and “Sweetie Come Brush Mi.”

But of all the finger-licking delicious meals and fruits Bishop Mac enjoyed in his childhood days, there was nothing to him like his Mama’s charcoal cooked “Brown-Stewed Chicken with Rice and Peas” dinner. He loved this dish so much that it was a repeat dinner two or three times every week.

Perhaps the thing which made this meal soooo special for him was the fact that everything, except the rice, came off their land and he helped to grow them. Additionally, although Red (Kidney) Beans were the most commonly used beans in the Rice and Peas, the beans changed with the season. Depending on the time of year the Rice and Peas would be cooked with either green or dried Gungo (Pigeon or Congo) Peas.

In Halls Delight, the wood fire meals are extremely delicious because the woods used are naturally flavourful. The fume from the wood helps to enhance the flavour of the pot. He has fond memories of him and his friends often getting provisions from their land and putting money together to get what they needed to “run boats (cook lunch)” of “Brown-Stewed Chicken with Rice and Peas.”

To this very day, Bishop Mac still delights in a hearty serving of “Brown-Stewed Chicken with Rice and Peas.” He said, “If you come to Jamaica, you must visit Halls Delight and try my favourite dish. The people of my hometown are very welcoming (hospitable) and will delight in making you my favourite dish on a wood fire. Even better, if you spend a few days or a week with a family to enjoy the real Jamaican “Brown-Stewed Chicken with Rice and Peas.” Only from Halls Delight.” – I am sure other Jamaicans will say their local “Brown-Stewed Chicken with Rice and Peas” is the best.

That said, Bishop Mac is an excellent cook and he knows delicious foods. When you get to Montego Bay, be sure to visit Bishop Mac. Also, no trip to Jamaica is complete unless you try Jamaican “Brown-Stewed Chicken with Rice and Peas.” You can enjoy it at many of the local eateries.

Interviewed & Written by Radcliffe Lennox
Translated by Shiho Owada

 Loading ...