Spanish Chicken Stew: A Tried & True Family Recipe - The Woks of Life (2024)

Spanish Chicken Stew is a hearty and comforting dish that we grew up eating all the time. Served on a bed of white rice, the sauce soaks right in, and a few dashes of hot sauce complement the richness of tender chicken thighs and the tanginess of the occasional green olive. In short, it’s perfection for cold days like the ones we’ve been having here in New York.

A Mom’s Fridge Cleanout Recipe

The name of this recipe is really Ma’s Spanish Chicken Stew, because my mom is the one who created this recipe one day from a jumble of old veggies, random jars of pickled things on the fridge door, a few trusty cans of beans and tomatoes, and a sneaky little packet of Sazon seasoning.

It’s essentially her made-up version of pollo guisado. I don’t remember the first time she made it, but I do remember us all requesting it many, many times, gleefully digging into many a batch, and reheating leftovers more times than I can remember.

The Changing Tastes of a Chinese Immigrant Mom

Being an immigrant, my mom has had ever-changing ideas about what non-Chinese dishes look and taste like over the years. For example, when she and her family first came to China (she was 16), they thought pizza was a pretty sorry excuse for food, and that cheese was disgusting smelly goop.

Over the years, even as she became more American, the average delectable dessert might get shunned for being too sweet, while some spongy something or other cake might get revered. Only certain pastas were favored––linguine with clams, anyone? Hot dogs were blech, while Italian sausage was king.

Needless to say, we grew up eating a lot of Chinese food to avoid the hassle of interpreting other cuisines, which was often left to our born-and-raised-in-upstate-New-York dad.

In fact, I vividly remember the first time my mom made a fancy dinner for us of non-Chinese food: she assembled a vaguely French bean soup, and little chicken cutlets magically (to my 5 year-old brain) rolled into chicken cordon bleu. Everything was delicious, and the homemade bread would have been the crowning achievement of the evening, but alas, an ill-timed nap resulted in it burning to a hockey-puck-like crisp.

But in my memory at least, this was the start of some much needed variety in our weeknight dinners. One recipe that resulted was this “Spanish Chicken Stew.” Though we never really knew if it was truly Spanish. It seemed to just be some recipe my mom pulled out of her hat and dubbed “Spanish,” because it had jarred Spanish olives and a Goya Sazon (Spanish!) packet tossed in.

Whatever the true origins of this Spanish Chicken Stew, it does resemble pollo guisado, a beloved dish in Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and other Spanish-speaking countries.

There are only a handful of recipes that truly stand the test of time in our family, and this is definitely one of them! We hope you enjoy it for years to come, just like we have.

Ma’s Spanish Chicken Stew: Recipe Instructions

First, heat a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Spread 2 tablespoons of oil evenly across the cooking surface, and brown the chicken thighs on both sides. Set the browned chicken aside on a plate.

Add the garlic and onion to the skillet.

Cook for a minute or so, and then add the celery, carrots, bell pepper, and potato. Cook for a few minutes until the carrots begin to soften.

Add the seasoning packet and stir to combine.

Add 2 bay leaves, ½ cup of Spanish green olives, chopped or whole (we like whole, but sometimes chopped adds more of a delightful relish effect to the sauce), and the entire contents of the 14-ounce can of whole (use a spatula to break them up into chunks) peeled tomatoes and the 14-ounce can of pink beans (the starch from the beans helps thicken the sauce).

Add the chicken to the pot with the vegetables along with 2 cups of water.

Bring to a boil, cover, and turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Then uncover and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes on medium high heat to reduce the sauce.

Serve this Spanish Chicken Stew with white rice mixed with ¼ cup of olive oil, a sprinkling of 1 teaspoon of salt (or to taste), and ¼ cup chopped parsley. This stew goes great with a little hot sauce on the side––Crystal (our favorite) or Tabasco are both great options.