Categorized | Vegetarian
Rice and peas without peas?
Posted on 07 February 2010
Though you may know it as rice and peas or peas and rice, peas is not actually used in this dish. Instead red kidney beans is the actual “peas” of choice used. And though we may associate this dish as being uniquely Jamaican, it’s also enjoyed throughout the Caribbean. However there are limited restaurants in Trinidad and Tobago that serves it and I’m still to find a home where it’s part of their weekly menu. Our choice for a rice dish with peas is Pelau.
This recipe is a modified version of a recipe that was passed on to me from a good friend from St Vincent. According to him, he makes the best rice and peas in the Caribbean… we’ll leave it as that for now!
You’ll Need…
2 cups brown rice (not instant)
3 cups water
1 cup coconut milk (unsweetened)
2 cloves of garlic
1 scallion (sliced)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1 can red beans (kidney) 19oz
1 teaspoon salt
Dash black pepper
1 whole hot pepper (scotch bonnet, habanero or whatever you like) * This is optional.
1 medium onion diced
Start by dicing the onion and scallion and smash the garlic so it’s crushed but not in many pieces. This way you can remove it from the finished dish easily. Also remember to remove the thyme off the sprig or you can leave it on the sprig and take the spring out when the dish is done cooking.
Then we’ll put a deep pot on medium heat and pour in the oil to heat up. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, thyme and scallion. Allow this to cook on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes.
While this cooks, let’s get the rice ready. I usually wash my rice before cooking to get rid of any grit and dirt. I do so by putting the rice into a bowl and let warm water cover it. Then using my hand and fingers I massage the rice. You’ll notice the water will go a bit gritty/white (see pic below). Drain that water out and rise a couple times again. Be sure to drain out the water well the final time. Now the onion should be soft and the oil infused with the other ingredients we added to the pot. Empty the wash rice and give the pot a good stir.
I’ve seem people empty the can of red beans directly into the pot, but I hate the liquid it’s packaged in. So I drain and give a quick rinse before emptying into the pot. After that I add the water, coconut milk, dash of black pepper, salt and the whole pepper. By putting the pepper whole, I can remove it at the end… plus it will get some of the flavour of the pepper without the actual heat. I then bring it up to a boil, turn it down to a simmer and cover the pot. This will then cook for about 25 minutes.
Stir every 5 minutes or so, and play close attention to the level of liquid. If you find that the liquid is drying up too fast, turn down the heat a bit. The final 10 minutes is crucial, since you want the rice to to cook, but not overcook and go mushy. If after 20 minutes you find that the rice is plump, turn up the heat (remove the lid) and cook off any remaining liquid. TIP: Here’s a simple way to test the rice to see if it’s done. Take a couple gains out of the pot and place on the counter top or on a side dish. Now gently press your fingers down and across the grain of rice. If there’s no solid texture (grainy feel), it means the rice is fully cooked.
As mentioned the last 10 minutes is crucial, since this is where you can control the desired texture of the rice. With the use of coconut milk and the fact that the rice contains starch it’s very easy to go creamy and sticky. I like my rice grainy so I burn off the liquid very fast once I determine that it fully cooked. Most times I under cook it (means the rice could use about 5 minutes more cooking) then I remove it off the heat with the lid covered. The residual heat in the pot continues to cook it while not on the heat of the stove.
* If you find that your rice is not fully cooked and your liquid is gone, simply add some boiling water to the pot and continue cooking.
The finished dish with some curry chicken wings.
I’d love to hear from you, especially if you have a different way of preparing rices and peas. Please leave me your comments in the area provided below.
Happy cooking
chris…
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26 Responses to “Rice and peas without peas?”
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I’ve made cook-up rice with split peas and garbanzo beans. I also add a bay leave.
Tuty..bay leaf? Now that’s new to me. Does it add a different flavour that’s noticeable? Any chance I cna get you to share that recipe with me/us?
Thanks for sharing.
happy cooking
chris..
I love rice with beans! That is a popular dish in Colombia……that loos delicious.
.-= Erica´s last blog ..Chocolate Flan ( Flan de Chocolate) =-.
Erica.. in the Caribbean we’d be lost with rice and some sort of bean or the other. BTW I love what you’re doing on your blog as well. Friends.. be sure to check out Erica’s blog (click on here name here).
happy cooking
chris…
I love rice & beans very much.I always trying to make rice by different ways but this is the best way..Thanks for sharing this recipe with us and also thanks for the step by step procedure for making.
you're very welcome
I like that you make this dish and most of your dishes with your own unique touch instead of the tradtional way. I think I will give it a try! Thanks
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. happy cooking
Love your web-site I haven't coked one thing
I mean one "ting" boi that was not absolutely
out of this world!! Thanks for taking the time
to get all these up here, I know that's a lot of work
much appreciated!
Regards,
Michael
nice.. thanks for stopping by and leaving your comments. much appreciated
happy cooking
chris
Hi Chris,
I had this peas and rice dish when I was vacationing in Barbados this was in 1986 and I liked it. I'd eaten it together with Fried Flying fish it was soooooooooo good. I'm going to try and make it tomorrow please God for lunch. Thanks so much Chris. Don't forget to give us the recipe for the Christmas Black Cake thank you.
Hi, Chris thanks for your posting. I really appreciate coming to the site and reading up on new Caribbean recipes I can try. I really love Rice and Peas, I'm from Columbus, OH and we have a couple of places that offer Caribbean food, but I love learning how to cook it myself. I am always trying to figure out what type or brand new of Rice you usually use to make this Recipe? I prefer White Rice. and I always use Asian market rice (Jasmine) which is kind of sticky and mushy at times. Again thank you for giving us your time and your great posting. I love this site
At home on STX, the food stands would make their beans (red) in a separate pot in a gravy-like liquid that was incredible. It was always spooned over rice in those styrofoam containers so the rice was kind of floating in the sauce…my mouth is watering just recalling this. Does anyone have a red bean recipe that sounds like this?
Oh yeah! I forgot to add…this weekend, I made the MOST simple rice n beans quick recipe…but it IS cheating to be honest…
I used a rice cooker. 3 scoops of basmati rice, filled up to the "3" line with 1/2 coconut milk (the kind found in the organic section of the grocery – not the canned type) and 1/2 water and sprinkled some tumeric in…stirred well and pressed the button. When it was done, I stirred in a can of GOYA Pink Beans in sauce.
SO easy, yet very tasty with baked chicken and a cuke/tomato salad on de side. Next time, I'm making johnny cake with this since I had so much time left over while the rice cooker did its thing.
whey! I cook this today with some fracasse chicken on d side and green fig pie … for d unique trini touch u missing d shadon bennin and piemento pepper though…
Oh and Chris peas and rice is normally a week day dish….. you dont normally get this in a " resturant" but its readily available in most food stalls all around town and in the malls
Thanks for that , very interesting. I get so bored of plain rice but i’m not exactly very skilled at cooking.
Made this yesterday for my husband and friends. Loved it! having the left overs for lunch today!
thank you for the recipes. I have such a hard time making rice and beans together. it always comes out soggy. I don't know what to do!!!! UGHHHH!!! I will try your way and see what happens.
That is pretty much what I had for lunch with some charai baji.
I found a recipe on allrecipes for rice and beans that I have been using for a quick minute that is also very good with – cloves, bay leaf with all the usual seasoning.
Hi Chris,
I love rice and peas, the first time I ate it was in Barbados on one of my vacations in 1986, it was served together with fried flying-fish. After I returned home (Trinidad) I would always make that dish and have it together with fish or chicken etc. When my friends came to visit and I serve them that dish they all asked for the recipe. A few people in Trinidad are making it since 1986 as I know. I live in Toronto many years now and I make it regularly as I still love it. Every home I visited in Barbados never made plain white rice they always made rice and peas. In Barbados I stayed at Sam Lord's Castle and just beside it was a small restaurant named Sam's Lantern that made local food and they always had rice and peas. One more thing, I got flying fish from the grocery in Trinidad from 1986 up untill I left for Toronto. I don't know if the groceries still sell it BUT I won't be surprise if they still do.
Hi Chris,
I forgot to mention that the next time I'm making this rice and peas dish I'll have it with some curry chicken as you did. Thanks my friend.
HI chris, looks delicious. Must try as I never cooked beans in rice, always used split peas or black eyes. I will have pigeon peas in rice for xmas as I have found an indian super market down under in NZ that sells freshly picked and frozen imported in sealed bags. Thanks for your recipes, will have to spend some time in the kitchen soon. Greetings to you and your family. Have a nice xmas and a wonderful new year.
Thanks for the recipe Chris. When my husband and I vacation is the Caribbean my husband always looks forward to this dish. He calls it that rice dish that has no peas. I will surprise him with this for supper one night.
Hi Chris, I normally cook Rice and Peas slightly different especially if I am cooking the kidney beans from dry. All the seasonings above (except the chopped onion) go into the pot whilst the beans are softening so that the water turns a reddish color and all the flavors infuse in that water. Then when almost soft I add the coconut milk and slowly bring to the boil before I add my washed rice. Got to admit it sometimes comes out mushy if I havent paid attention to the pot but most of the time its almost as good as mamas in Jamaica! I love this site though – there are a few dishes I needed to brush up on because I haven't cooked them in so long. Have you ever cooked up seasoned tripe or chicken foot soup?? As its Winter I have been buying cow foot, pigs trotters, oxtail, tripe, chicken foot etc all homely foods to get us through! Looking forward to getting a few different recipes on this site. Keep up the good work