I guess I could say that this is Caribbean inspired.
I had a co worker years ago from Trinidad who brought beans and rice to our potlucks. I loved the taste of the coconut milk that it was cooked it in. Her beans and rice were not spicy like mine, nor did she have coconut flesh in it. I happened to have some leftover frozen young coconut that was given to me. I made a desert with a portion of it, but this time I wanted to use the rest for something savory.
Since this week's hive top chef 's theme is beans, I decided to make my own version of the beans and rice that I was introduced to. I used the coconut meat as well as coconut milk.
Coconut rice and beans
2 cups long grain rice
2 cups coconut meat
4 cups cooked red beans
2 cups coconut milk
2 mince habanero peppers
4 cloves minced garlic
1 diced onion
1 teaspoon minced ginger
juice of one lemon or lime
1 teaspoon toasted cumin seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
salt
4 cups vegetable broth or more as needed. You can use water.
The beans were cooked from dry beans. I always have some in the cupboard. Beans are a great thing to store since they don't rot. In an apocalypse it would be wise to have a large amount stored up. A little bit of dried beans goes a long way.
I started the beans and rice by frying the onion, then garlic and habanero in oil.
I added the coconut meat and some toasted cumin seeds.
I added more broth along with the coconut milk. This was done gradually until the rice became tender. I kept stirring it every so often even though my pan was non stick.
In the meantime I added two cups of broth to a pot, one tablespoon of tomato paste and a few splashes of soy sauce. After it was well heated I added the cooked beans and rice mixture to it, which was close to being ready but not quite. I forgot to get photos of the beans and rice together.
It went into the broth below.
It was simmered slowly until the moisture evaporated. I ended up adding some peas that I had left in the freezer.
I accompanied the rice and beans with tempeh. I met someone yesterday that had never heard of tempeh. I was surprised. I explained to them that it is a fermented soy bean product that originates in Indonesia. I had the best tempeh in Indonesia so it's certain they know what they're doing when it comes to tempeh.
After boiling the tempeh in vegetable soup broth then simmering for around 30 minutes, I removed it from the broth. I put the remainder of broth aside. The tempeh was coated with jerk seasoning which is used in Jamaica mostly. I made it myself but you can by it already mixed.
Jerk seasoniong
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
I coated the tempeh in jerk spice. I suppose it is used mostly with chicken, pork and seafood. I don't eat animal products so tempeh would serve as the protein.
Tempeh really absorbs flavors well so it's pretty versatile. In this case it may not be chicken but it's meaty and takes on the flavors that you give it.
After cooking it in broth for around half hour, I fried it in oil in a pan with the spices rubbed into it. Using the liquid that was set aside I added it to the pan with the tempeh and let it absorb.
If I had a barbecue I would have put the tempeh on the fire for an extra smoky flavor. I just put it under the oven grill for a while after taking it from the pan. My bottom oven element is dead I can't bake but at least I can grill things.
With a little basic salad and vinaigrette it was a satisfing dinner and a little trip to the tropics which I long for.
Marc was really hooked on this. He wasn't familiar with this coconut rice so after he ate it he was eager to get more. This was a good sign because I have a lot of left overs so he will have to have it again soon.