Jamaican Rice & Peas

Jamaican Rice and Peas is a traditional side dish infused with thyme, allspice, garlic, and scotch bonnet pepper. Simmered in coconut milk, this easy recipe is rich, flavourful, and perfect with almost any meal.

Prep Time5

Cook Time1 15

Soak Beans12

Total Time1 20

Course: Jamaican & Caribbean, Sides

Cuisine: Caribbean, Jamaican

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Servings: servings

Author: Taneisha Morris

Equipment

Medium Sized Bowl
Large Stock Pot
Wooden Spoon
Fork

Ingredients

Soaking Red Kidney Beans

1 cup Dried Red Kidney Beans rinsed
3 cups Water
2 stalks Escallion or green onion
3 sprigs Thyme
3 cloves Garlic crushed
1/2-inch pc. Ginger
1 Whole Scotch Bonnet Pepper
5 Pimento Seeds whole allspice berries

Jamaican Rice and Peas

2 cups Uncooked Parboiled Rice
4-5 cups Water plus more/less as needed to soften red kidney beans
1 cup Full-Fat Coconut Milk
1 whole Vegetable Bouillon Cube
1/2 tsp Salt or as desired
1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Instructions

Rinse beans and place in a medium sized bowl. Add fresh water, escallion, garlic, scotch bonnet pepper, ginger and thyme. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and allow to soak overnight.
In a large pot, pour in bean mixture (including the water, which is now infused with flavour) and add 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally. Ensure there is enough water to cover the beans at all times until softened - you may need to add an additional 1-3 cups of water at the halfway point. The boiling process to cook the beans, will take anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour depending on how long you've soaked your beans.
When beans tender, stir in coconut milk, seasoning, and allow to boil for 5-7 minutes. Add rinsed rice, cover and simmer over low heat for about 20-30 minutes or until liquid has absorbed; adjust the heat as necessary to maintain a very gentle simmer.
Remove from the heat and let steam for 10 minutes, then discard the thyme sprigs, ginger, escallion, pimento seeds and scotch bonnet. Using a fork, fluff the rice and beans. Serve hot and enjoy!

Notes

- Soak your Beans - this will lessen the amount of time it will take for your beans to become tender when cooking.

- Liquid to Rice - you can always add more water, if you're finding that all the liquid has absorbed but the rice is still not cooked. It's better to have less, and add more, than to have too much and end up with mushy rice. When you have added your rice to the pot, liquid should be about an inch (roughly the first marking from the tip of your index finger) higher when the rice has settled. White rice - approx. 1 inch, brown rice - approx. 2 inches above.
- Low Simmer - once the rice has been added, you should only be cooking on a low heat; a slight simmer. If not, you burn your rice. Slow and steady is the name of the game.

See section above for additional tips for success.

Nutrition