How to cook peas and rice (or is it rice and peas)
There is still quite a bit of mystique around cooking Caribbean peas and rice. Lots of people from all walks of life enjoy eating this signature Caribbean dish. Some people consider the time it takes to learn to cook it properly at home too long, while others think the process of preparing a meal is too time consuming. The main ingredients including gungo peas, pigeon peas and blackeye beans are easy to find in the UK and are available to purchase on this very website!
Some recipes are more complex than others, but I am about to take away some of the mystery. If you know how to cook rice, you already know how to cook rice and peas. Yes, really!
Rice and gungo peas, chicken, veggies and plantain
There are as many ways to cook this signature dish as there are stars in the sky! And no one recipe is definitive. Sometimes it simply depends on what you must hand to season it. Some recipes throw many different spices into the water the rice will cook in. Others just stick to a little bit of salt. Some use coconut milk to cook the rice in. Some sweat off the rice in the pan with onion and bayleaf and other herbs before adding the water! If you are really feeling adventurous you can add salt beef or pigtail. There is a recipe for this here: https://caribbeanpot.com/incredible-smoked-pigtail-cook-up-rice
In the end, I can only tell you how I cook rice and peas. And I would love you to share how you cook yours, because every recipe is someone's favourite recipe. For a start I like to use long grain rice, but you may prefer to use basmati rice which could have different cooking times. I usually don't measure how much water I use.
Ingredients - Serves 4
- 2 cups pigeon or gungo peas (dried)
- 2 cups long grain rice
- 6 cups water
- 1 tablespoon of thyme
- 1 tablespoon of spring onion
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- Salt to taste
Rinse the dried peas with cold water and put them into your pot with half the diced onion, the thyme and 4 cups of water. Simmer until the peas are tender but not mushy (about 20 minutes). Check one of the peas to see if they are soft enough by pressing it between your thumb and index finger. If still hard, then add some more water and simmer for a bit longer but if you are happy then you can prepare to add your rice.
Wash the rice to remove excess starch and remove any bad grains. I use a sieve to rinse the rice in running water then add it with the remaining 2 cups of water and onion to the pot. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the water is just above the rice and the peas.
Cover the rice and peas with a piece of foil and the lid of the pot, and allow to steam gently on a low heat until all of the water is absorbed and the rice is fluffy. Someone pointed out to me that this is similar to the way Ghanaians cook jollof rice or waakye (rice with beans).
The faster version
- 1 x 400g tin or pigeon or gungo peas
- 2 cups long grain rice
- 6 cups water
- 1 tablespoon of thyme
- 1 tablespoon of spring onion
- 1 medium onion (diced)
- Salt to taste
Wash the rice to remove excess starch and remove any bad grains. Put the rice with the 6 cups of water, the herbs and onion into the pot. Bring up to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the rice until the water is just above the rice.
In this instance the tinned peas are already cooked so pop open the tin and add the peas to the almost-cooked rice being sure to give the two ingredients a good stir. Some people prefer to rinse the peas before adding to the rice. The tinned peas are usually in a briny liquid which enhances the flavours, colour and the smell of the finished dish.
Cover the rice and peas with a piece of foil and the lid of the pot and allow to steam gently on a low heat until all of the water is absorbed and the rice is fluffy.
Bon appetite!
Written by Wendy – Foodfromhome.uk
Email: hello@foodfromhome.uk
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