After too much comfort food it is time for the warm food. The food that reminds you of vita coco and tropical places, the food that takes you back to wonderful holidays in exotic places in the sun. Belizian Rice and Beans is one of those meals. The thing that makes food typical of Belize is not necessarily exotic ingredients but they way that they are combined together.
Cultures around the world eat a version of rice and beans but the thing that makes this one special is the additional of coconut milk to the cooking rice and the mixture of the grain with the bean during cooking.
- 3 cups of white rice
- 1/2 of a fresh coconut
- 1 cup of cooked kidney beans
This is somewhat of a shortened version of this recipe and it can get shorter still. For the authentic taste you want to grate the fresh coconut into the cooking water of the rice and and add in the cooked beans. If you can’t get your hands on fresh coconut you can use 1/2 tin of coconut milk, or 1 /4 cup of creamed coconut, or 1/2 cup of dried coconut (although this is my least favourite option). Belizians use a ’Belizian chicken spice’called red recado to flavour their chicken stew. It is made from achiote. The different stews make use of readily available vegetables like carrot, celery, tomato, and potato, but the chicken is cooked with this distinctive spice.
If you can’t find it, I suggest getting a really good bottle of Belizian hot sauce, making the rice and beans and just having a simple roast chicken to go with it!