Carolina Pilau

Dishes like this one appear in various cultures as pilaf, jambalaya, and just plain chicken and rice. In Charleston and the surrounding Lowcountry, they started as pilau, but they’re often spelled perloo (though I’ve seen purloo, perlo, and perlau as well). The word is pronounced “PER-lo,” “per-LO,” and “pee-LO,” but that o is a distinctive Charleston sound—and many people not from here think we are saying “oo.” Some people say “oo, la, la”; others say “oh, la, l