The star of any Jamaican dinner is not the main meat but the rice and peas. It is a fussy thing to prepare for it requires patient prep and a watchful eye that it does not burn. But a rice cooker is a life (and time) saver and my sisters have developed a recipe that includes throwing everything in the pot, pressing a button, and then forgetting all about it until the thing alerts you it is done with an audible “click.” I always think it should have been a “burp.” Over the years, other time savers included tinned coconut milk and kidney beans.But I live in Thailand and although coconut milk is abundant, not so kidney beans, which are expensive imports, and salt pork is practically unheard of here. So I’ve learned to salt my own pork (bacon isn’t the same; too thin) and to cook the red kidney beans long and slow for 24 hours until the water turns into this miraculous deep purple saucethat is essential for giving rice and peas its characteristic reddish-brown colour.
Quick and Easy Rice and Peas
8 oz salt pork, cubed
1 cup kidney beans, soaked overnight in 3 cups water
Rinse the soaked beans and discard the soaking water. Put beans and 4 cups water in a slow cooker and cook for 24 hours on low until the cooking water thickens, turns opaque, and becomes a deep purple-brown colour. If the beans are still hard after 20 hours, add 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and continue cooking as before. Do not discard the water.
Rinse the salt pork of any excess salt and cook in a pressure cooker with 4 cups water 20-25 minutes until tender. Drain and discard water. Chop pork into cubes. Set aside.
Add soaked and drained rice to the rice cooker pot. Add beans and coconut milk. Add enough bean cooking water to come up just below the “7” level mark on the rice cooker, if you are using “new” rice. If the rice is older (that is, store-bought) bring the liquid level up to 7. If there isn’t enough bean water, add plain water. Add pork cubes, garlic, scallions, thyme and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Stir lightly. Cover and press the cook button.
When the button pops up and the “keep warm” light comes on, taste and adjust seasonings.
Sunday dinner when I was growing up in Jamaica was an elaborate production. My mother, father, and my aunts would all help to make the meal, which was served at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. Afterwards we would go on the traditional Sunday Drive up in the hills behind our house, or down along the Palisadoes to the airport and back. So I’ve always felt that I should make a special effort for Sunday dinners, even if we’ve long dispensed with the Sunday Drive. Tonight was “Jamaican Dinner Night.” I made the cryptically named Brown Stew. Just say it and Jamaicans will tell you it is chicken stewed in herbs and spices and swimming in a delectable tomato and ketchup sauce. Dreams of home are made of these.
Brown Stew Chicken (adapted from Grandbaby Cakes)
Prep time: 20 minutes, 2 hours or overnight
Cook time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4
For the marinade:
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic, smashed
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon browning sauce (Grace or Kitchen Bouquet; available at West Indian stores)
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
Few turns black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
For the sauce:
1 tablespoon rice bran oil or vegetable oil
2 cups low sodium chicken stock or broth
1/2 cup tomatoes, chopped, riper the better
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 teaspoon all spice powder
1 large dried bay leaf
Scallions, sliced on the bias, for garnish (optional)
In a large bowl, mix together the ingredients for the marinade. Add the chicken pieces, turning to coat. Marinate the chicken at least 2 hours or up to overnight. Overnight is better. Turn the pieces occasionally. You can use a plastic bag but I like to use less plastic these days.
Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade, shaking off the excess, and patting dry. Put the chicken pieces on a plate while you heat the oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over a medium flame. Reserve the marinade.
Fry the chicken pieces lightly to brown the outsides. Add the stock to the pot, then the reserved marinade, tomatoes, ketchup, allspice and bay leaf. Cover and bring to a boil, about 10 minutes. Uncover the pot and reduce heat to low. Cook until the sauce has reduced and thickened, about 20 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Remove the bay leaf and the thyme stalks. Garnish with sliced scallions, if desired.
Serve with rice and peas and a salad, for a lighter fare. At home, people would boil potatoes, yams, carrots, and green bananas, and throw in some dumplings as well into the pot. In addition to the rice and peas, people would surrender to the meal’s soporific effects. Time for a snooze; no Sunday Drive for me.
I grew up in Jamaica eating this soup. I had a hankering for it the other day, so I tried to recreate it. My cousin Cathy suggested the ingredients for the basic broth but its taste was missing something, and it wasn’t just the Ve Tsin (msg) which I deliberately left out. So I added hot garlic oil and sesame oil to elevate the flavour profile. Nevertheless, this soup has a lot of things going in it: dumplings, red roast pork, noodles, and vegetables. But I did forget one thing: the egg roulade in the picture above. The picture at the end includes the egg “roll”–basically an omelette rolled up and shredded crosswise.
Shree-Mein (Chinese-Jamaican soup with noodles, dumplings, and red roast pork)
Yield: 6 servings
1 six-inch piece of salted radish, rinsed of excess salt
6 small dried mushrooms, softened and stemmed
2 tablespoons dried shrimp
Aromatics: cilantro roots, carrots, garlic cloves, onion, cabbage leaves, etc.
Put all ingredients in a slow-cooker with 6 cups water. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Strain. Slice mushrooms and return to the soup. Discard the rest of the solids. Taste and season:
1-2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons neutral oil or peanut oil
Dash or two sesame oil
Add salt to taste and white pepper. Heat oil in a small saucepan and add garlic to hot oil. Watch carefully and stir until it becomes light golden. Remove from heat before it burns. It will continue to cook in the hot oil and become deep golden. Pour hot garlic oil on top of the soup. Add dash or two of sesame oil to finish the soup.
Assemble bowls
4 dumplings per bowl (can use store-bought; I used this potsticker recipe)
1/2-cup handmade noodles per bowl, cooked al dente (can use dried noodles; recipe follows)
6 slices of Chinese red roast pork (char siu) per bowl (can use store-bought; recipe follows)
Greens, e.g. baby bok choy, peashoots, bean sprouts; lightly steamed
Scallions, sliced thin on the bias, for garnish
Cilantro, chopped coarsely, for garnish (optional)
Egg omelette, rolled up and shredded
Soup
Condiments: chili-garlic paste for dipping dumplings, soy sauce or fish sauce
Handmade Noodles (The Woks of Life)
2 cups/300g bread flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup/150ml water
In the mixing bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the flour and salt. On low speed, add the water a half at a time, resting briefly between each addition. Continue kneading 5 minutes until the dough forms a shaggy ball. Continue kneading 10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and somewhat elastic. It will be tight when stretched. Turn dough out onto the countertop and cover it with the upturned mixing bowl. Let the dough rest 30 minutes. Afterwards, it will become softer and more pliable. Knead the dough a few times to knock out the air. Shape it into a ball and using a bench scraper, cut the dough in half.
Boil a large saucepan of water and leave it to simmer on the stove while you roll out the noodles.
On a well-floured surface, roll out one dough half into a thin sheet. Leave the other half covered by the upturned bowl. Sprinkle flour generously underneath the dough and on top. Fold the dough into fourths. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the dough into narrow strips starting from the short side. Gently separate the noodles and toss them in more flour. Cook the noodles 1-3 minutes or until al dente. Drain and portion into bowls.
Char Siu (Chinese Red Roast Pork), adapted from China Sichuan Food
500g pork tenderloin
1-inch piece of ginger, grated
2 large garlic cloves, smashed
Char Siu Marinade
2 teaspoons red yeast rice
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1/2-teaspoon Chinese Five-Spice powder
1 tablespoon red wine (can use rice cooking wine)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 cube red fermented tofu plus 1/2 tablespoon of the jar liquid.
1 tablespoon honey
For brushing:
1 tablespoon honey
1/2-tablespoon warm water
1/2-tablespoon of the char siu marinade
Sesame oil
In a medium pot combine the marinade ingredients and heat to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Transfer the pork to a large bowl. Spoon marinade all over. Scatter over the minced ginger and garlic. Turn over the tenderloin. Refrigerate 24-48 hours, turning once.
Heat oven 200˚C/400˚C. Put oven rack in the middle. Line a baking tray with parchment and put a baking rack on top. Remove the tenderloin and put it on top of the baking rack.
Mix together the honey, water, and char siu marinade, and set aside. Brush honey mixture over the pork, turn over, and brush the second side.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush both both sides with honey mixture. Roast 15 minutes more. Move the oven rack to the top position and roast 2 more minutes or until the edges of the pork become charred. Remove from oven. Brush sesame oil on top and bottom of the pork. Cool 5 minutes then slice.
This recipe is adapted from Food 52. Instead of using wheat noodles, I used buckwheat noodles which are lower on the glycemic index. The dumplings themselves are adapted from an America’s Test Kitchen potsticker recipe which I lightened by adding minced chicken. Make the dumplings first and freeze the extra–there is no way to make a smaller amount just for this recipe. So go ahead and make the extra dumplings and freeze them for later use. Noodles, dumplings, fresh made spicy sauce, plus baby bok choy and bean sprouts to take the edge off–this is a light dinner for two!
Spicy Buckwheat Noodles with Dumplings
Dumplings
3 cups shredded napa cabbage
3/4 teaspoon salt
200g ground pork
150g ground chicken breast (sub chopped shrimp)
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 large egg white
4 scallions, minced
1 large clove garlic, minced
50-60 gyoza wrappers
Toss cabbage with salt and drain in a colander, 15 minutes. Squeeze out any remaining water. In a medium bowl, put cabbage, pork, chicken, soy sauce, white pepper, ginger, egg white, scallions, and garlic. Put a half-tablespoon pork mixture in the middle of a wrapper. Lightly wet the edges and press to seal. Put on a baking tray and cover with a damp cloth. Continue wrapping dumplings until all the filling is used up. This recipe makes 50-60 dumplings but you will only use 8 for this recipe. Freeze the rest individually, then pack in a zipper lock bag to use as needed.
Spicy Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 teaspoon chili bean paste (I used gochujang)
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup scallions, minced fine
1/3 cup cilantro, minced fine
1-2 large cloves garlic, minced fine.
Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Noodles
6 oz buckwheat noodles (can use wheat noodles or ramen)
4-6 baby bok choy, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cups fresh bean sprouts
Chopped cilantro for garnish, optional
Boil a quart of water in a large pot. Cook the noodles according to the manufacturer’s directions. You can boil the dumplings with the noodles–they will need 4-8 minutes to cook. About 30 seconds before noodles and dumplings are cooked, add the bok choy. Portion the noodles, dumplings, bok choy into two bowls. Drain the hot water over the bean sprouts to slightly soften them, then share them between the two bowls. Spoon spicy sauce generously over the top of each bowl, mix, then garnish with cilantro, if desired. Serve at once.
Foodie Joanie 