Yet another version of String Beans as adapted from memories of growing up in the Caribbean. Pali (my nickname for Zyair Rook) and I were busy cleaning the weeds in the garden when we noticed that the beans we planted mid-spring had a bunch of beans ready for harvest. We harvested and cooked!
You’ll Need…
1 lb string beans 2 tablespoon olive oil 1/4 lb salted cod (prepared) 1 medium tomato (diced) 1 medium onion (sliced) 2 scallions (chopped) 1/2 bell pepper (sliced) 4 sprigs thyme 2 tablespoon water 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 4-6 cloves garlic (diced)
Note! If doing this recipe gluten free please go through the full list of ingredients to make sure they meet with your specific gluten free dietary requirements. I used Salted Cod, but you can use your fav dry/salted fish. There were no spicy peppers (like Scotch bonnet) used in the recipe as explained in the video below.
Wash the string beans, then remove the ends and discard. Chop or break into 1 to 2 inch pieces and set aside. For the Salted Cod, I placed it in a bowl then added boiling water onto it. When it was cool to touch I squeezed out the water, rinsed with cool water.. squeezed out that water and shredded it into bits. Note that I used boned (boneless) salted Cod, but I still kept an eye out for any bones.
Heat the olive oil in a wide pan on a medium flame, then add the prepared salted Cod, followed by the onion, garlic and black pepper. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 4 minutes. Add the bell pepper (optional), thyme, scallions and should you decide to add any spicy pepper, do so now. Cook a further 3 minutes.
Turn the heat back up to medium and add the prepared String Beans (French beans will work too) and stir well.
Add the water and bring to a boil with the lid on.
Toss in the tomato, turn the heat down to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes with the lid on.
It’s now time to personalize things a bit. Check for salt and add if necessary, I didn’t add any as explained in the video, and should there still be liquid at the bottom of the pot, remove the lid (as I did) and cook a further 5 minutes with the lid off.
Personally I like the beans with a slight bit of body. We had it with Sada Roti in case you’re curious. But it’s just as delicious as a topping for steaming rice.
Here’s a dish my mom would make the odd Sunday when Callaloo wasn’t on the menu, as part of the Grand Caribbean Sunday Lunch. Paired with stewed , grilled or oven roasted meats, macaroni pie, boiled sweet potato and plantain and there was always a salad of some sort on the side. Even if it was just watercress harvested from the village streams that morning or sliced cucumbers from our kitchen garden at the back of the house.
You’ll Need…
2 cups dried red kidney beans 8-9 cups water 4-6 cloves garlic (smashed) 5 sprigs thyme 1 wiri wiri pepper (any spicy pepper will work) 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 medium onion (diced) 1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil 1 heaping tablespoon golden brown sugar 1 tablespoon Caribbean Green Seasoning 1 cup diced carrots 2 cups diced pumpkin 1 stalk celery (diced) 2 scallions (chopped) 1 tablespoon dehydrated Pimento peppers (optional) 2 tablespoon tomato puree paste 2 tablespoon Maple Syrup (pure) 1 medium tomato (diced) 2-3 tablespoon coconut cream 1 teaspoon black pepper divided 1 heaping tablespoon vegetable stock powder 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoon chopped shado beni(culantro)
Note: I used a Wiri Wiri pepper to give these beans a bit of a kick, Scotch Bonnet, Habanero or any of your fav spicy pepper will work, in amounts you can tolerate. Or feel free to leave it out if spicy is not your thing.
In a deep pot, soak the washed red beans in cool water for about 2 hours. Then place the pot on a medium flame to bring to a boil. As the water comes to temperature, add garlic, thyme, onion and one of the wiri wiri pepper. Give it a stir, then add the salt and black pepper. I started with about 7 cups of water but I did end up adding another 2 cups or so as they simmered.
As the beans cook, it’s a great time to prep the other ingredients.
As it comes to a boil, turn it down to as low and it can go and allow it to simmer until the beans are tender.
One hour and fifteen minutes later it’s time to take the pot off the burner as the beans will be tender. Set this aside and get another wide heavy pot on a medium/high flame.
Add the oil followed by the sugar. You would have seen me do this when I ‘brown stew’. Watch the video below if this becomes confusing. The sugar will melt, go frothy, then deep amber in color. Here is where (be VERY careful) you’ll add the cooked beans to the pot. BE VERY CAREFUL as you’re adding liquid to caramelized sugar and it can jump back at you. If the sugar goes BLACK.. STOP. Allow the pot to cool, wash, dry and start back.
Vent you kitchen as it can become a bit smoky. After all the beans (and liquid) is added, it’s time to add the other ingredients (except the shado beni).
Couple noteworthy points, mom would never add Maple Syrup, Vegetable Stock powder nor Tomato Paste (she would add a tablespoon of tomato ketchup). These additions are just my way of adding my own personality to the dish.
Bring it up to a boil and allow it to cook for a further 30 minutes. Test to make sure everything is tender and the salt is to your liking. While I didn’t add a lot of salt, I knew the vegetable stock I used had a sodium element to it. Adjust accordingly.
If it’s too runny, use your spoon to crush the pumpkin and some of the beans. BUT do keep in mind that this will THICKEN as it cools down. Leftovers can be put into freezer containers or vacuum sealed and kept in the freezer for months. Thaw, add a tiny bit of water and reheat on the stove. If you used a vacuum sealed bag, place in boiling water.
Top with the chopped Shado Beni as you turn off the stove and stir.
As a young fella on the islands, my brother and I usually helped mom with the kitchen garden after school and on the weekends. I enjoyed seeing plants go from seeds to actually bearing fruit and harvest time was usually my favorite. Picking bodi (yard beans) off the bush (grows on a vine-like bush) was like a treasure hunt and it didn’t hurt that I LOVE beans of all shape and form. So the meals which would follow the time spent harvesting, was a glorious time for me. Traditionally mom did this one of two ways, in a curry or stewed with some sort of leftover meat or bits of salted cod. But in this recipe I’ll show you another take on cooking bodi (or any green bean).
* Taste for salt near the end and adjust as the soy and oyster sauce may have enough salt to season this dish. I used oyster sauce in this recipe, so please visit your local Chinese grocers for a vegetarian option if you want to make this 100% vegetarian. If you cannot get bodi, feel free to use string beans or french beans, but note that they may cook faster than bodi. Be sure to use a gluten free soy sauce and oyster sauce if cooking this according to a gluten free diet.
Prep the yard beans by trimming off the ends, then cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces. Wash and drain. Dice the onion, garlic and scotch bonnet pepper – remember to wash your hands after handling the scotch bonnet, don’t use any seeds and only use as much as you can handle. The recipe works fine without it as well. (I grated the ginger)
Heat the oil on a medium flame, then toss in the garlic, onion and ginger… lower the heat to low and let this gently cook for about 3 minutes.
Raise the heat to medium and then go in with the trimmed bodi pieces, stir well, then add all the other ingredients (except the tomato) and add the water. Bring to a boil and cook on a medium heat for about 10-12 minutes, then go in with the cashews. Stir well.
Here’s where it’s up to you to personalize the dish a bit… taste for salt and determine how tender you like your beans. If you like it really tender you may need to add a bit more water and cook for an extra 5 minutes or so. As you turn off the heat toss in the diced tomato to brighten up the overall stir-fry. The residual heat from the pan will be enough to cook the tomato enough (so it’s not melted away).
If you didn’t already know, Chinese immigrants (as contract laborers) came to the Caribbean over a century ago (between 1853 and 1879), so you’ll find many of our dishes are heavily influenced by their delicious contributions.
I do hope you give this bodi stirfry with cashews a try as the flavors and texture is simply stunning.
Green beans of all kinds are a favorite of mine, so finding ways to add extra flavor and texture to them is something I’m constantly experimenting with. Like the Stew Chicken With String Beans I shared with you a while back, this stewed beef with string beans is almost identical. However by using beef instead of chicken, you’ll notice a subtle difference in the overall taste of the completed dish.
This dish was usually made by our mom when she had some leftover Caribbean style stewed meats from the night before (beef, pork or chicken) and even as a child, it was a hit with me. As a matter of fact.. it was a hit with all of her four children. Our dad was never and still isn’t a picky eater, so he’ll do damage to anything placed in front of him (with the exception of pork).
You’ll Need…
1 lb beef – cubed into 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 cloves of garlic – thinly sliced or crushed
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion – chopped
1 medium tomato – chopped
1 tablespoon green seasoning
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 scotch bonnet pepper
1 scallion
1 lime or lemon or 3 tablespoons of vinegar
1.5 lbs string beans (trimmed)
Trim the beef into 1 inch cubes, then wash with cool water and juice of the lime, lemon or vinegar, Drain dry and set aside as we prep the ingredients we’ll be using to marinate it with. Chop the tomato, onion, scallion and garlic. Remember to wear gloves when chopping the scotch bonnet pepper, don’t include any seeds as that’s where the raw heat is and do wash your hands with soap and water immediately after handling such hot peppers.
In a large blow, place the washed beef pieces and season with the salt, black pepper, grate in the ginger, green seasoning, worcestershire sauce, ketchup and all the ingredients we chopped. Give it a good stir and allow that to marinate in the fridge for 15 minutes.. 2 hours would be best though. (all you should have left is the veg oil, brown sugar, beans and water from the ingredient list).
Remove from the fridge and allow it to come back to room temp (about 10 minutes) and get ready to ‘stew’. If you’ve never seen this done you may find it a bit strange, since we’re making a sort of caramel and you’ll think it will be sweet. NOPE! Heat the oil in a large heavy pot (one with a lid) , then stir in the brown sugar. It’s important that you have a long handle (dry) spoon and have the seasoned beef close at hand. This step can be a bit tricky, so be prepared. The long handle spoon is to prevent getting hit with splatters of that hot oil/caramel as you add the seasoned pieces of beef to the pot. Your heat should be med/high and you’ll start to see it smoke and the sugar will start to melt. Keep stirring until you see it go frothy and start to change colour. When it reaches a dark brown colour, it’s time to add the seasoned beef to the pot. Add small batches at a time and keep stirring. Try to avoid the sugar/caramel going black or you’ll end up with bitter tasting beef. Watch the video below to see exactly how I did it.
If you’re wondering.. yes, the marinade all went into the pot. The goal here is to create a lovely flavor base and rich colour. Give it a good stir once you have all the pieces of beef in the pot, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a rolling boil (it will spring it’s own natural juices). Cover the pot and let that go for about 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, take off the lid and crank up the heat to burn off all that liquid. In the same bowl you marinated the beef, add the 2 cups of water and swish it around to pick up any remaining marinade.
With all the liquid gone from the pot, add the water from the bowl to the pot and bring to a boil. In case you’re wondering why we burnt off the liquid only to add more, here’s why… t his step infuses the meat with the rich flavor and created a lovely depth of colour which we needed as a base for this stewed beef with string beans. As it comes to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, place the lid on the pot and allow that to cook for about 50-60 minutes. The idea is to have this beef very tender.
As this simmers away, it time to trim and wash the string beans. If you don’t have string beans, you can certainly use bodi (yard beans) or any type of green beans you may have. Trim off the ends and discard, then break (or cut) into 1 to 1.5 inch pieces. Give it a wash and allow to drain.
After 50 minutes (remember to stir every 5-7 minutes) you should have tender beef pieces and your kitchen should have a wicked Caribbean scent. There should still be a little liquid in the pot, so start adding the trimmed beans in and give it a good stir. Take the heat up to med and bring to a boil. With the little liquid we have, it will be almost like steaming the beans in the stewed beef.
Here’s where you’ll personalize this dish. I allowed the pot to go for about 12 minutes after adding the beans as I like the beans to maintain a bit of that lovely green colour and have a little ‘bite’ to them. If you like your beans cooked soft, you’ll have to cook it a bit longer. Taste for salt at this point and adjust accordingly. Turn up the heat to burn off any liquid.
This dish is loaded with flavors and uniquely Caribbean! As a side dish it can serve about 5 people and goes well with rice or roti… but Tehya and I usually eat it like a stir fry when we can’t wait for the rice to be done cooking. It’s also great on sandwiches!
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