Jamaican Rice and Peas Recipe
Jamaican Rice and Peas served.
Jamaican Rice and peas is the staple of every Jamaican Sunday dinner. The 2 things you can be sure of in Jamaica are sunshine, and rice and peas on Sunday. This delicious dish was first introduced to the island by the slaves that came from West Africa centuries ago. The recipe has changed a little since then, by using ingredients found on the island, such as thyme, and pepper.
My grandmother would scoff at me for using canned coconut milk instead of the fresh coconut milk she used. If only I had a coconut tree in NJ which I could get my own fresh coconuts, LOL. Enjoy your Sunday rice and peas.
Jamaican Rice and Peas
This easy to follow recipe will have you cooking like a Jamaican in no time flat. If you're a Jamaican, you better know how to cook rice and peas.
Ingredients
- 2 cups long grain white rice (brown rice can be substituted)
- 3/4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
- 3 stalks scallions (AKA green onions)
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1 whole scotch bonnet pepper (AKA habanero) chopped
- 1 3/4 cups dried kidney beans canned kidney beans can be used as a substitute
- 2 springs thyme dried
- 1/2 tbs black pepper
- 1/2 tbs salt
- 7 whole allspice seeds (AKA pimento seeds)
Instructions
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The first thing you must do if you're using dried kidney beans is to make sure you soak them overnight in a bowl of water. This softens the texture of the beans. I prefer dried beans, but you can use the canned kidney beans instead. Drain the water from the beans and rinse thoroughly with water.
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Place your beans in a medium saucepan, add about 3 cups of water and boil for about 1 hr under a medium flame. Your beans should now be tender (test by sticking a fork into one of them).
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While your beans are simmering, you can now add your unsweetened coconut milk, and stir for about 5 minutes.
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Then you add your chopped garlic, scallions (green onions), thyme, allspice seeds and scotch bonnet pepper.
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Add your salt and pepper to the mix
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Stir under a medium-high flame for about 5 minutes or so. Then you can add your rice and cook until the rice is cooked and fluffy, which takes about ½ hr to 40 minutes. There you have it, delicious Jamaican rice and peas.
