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 sauce that 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
1 250ml carton of coconut milk, unsweetened
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
5 cups rice cooker rice, washed and drained (recommended Thai jasmine rice)
3 stalks scallion cut into 2-inch lengths
1/2-teaspoon thyme
1/2-teaspoon black pepper
water, if needed
salt and pepper to taste
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.
Foodie Joanie 