Red Peas" & Rice
Tin Boom & Pantry Suppers
This is the undisputed king of the Jamaican Sunday table, adapted for a Tuesday night in Ohio. Yard-style cooking is inherently pragmatic, and native cooks have long embraced the 'tin boom'—using canned kidney beans and their starchy liquid to build a lightning-fast, deeply savory coconut broth. The secret here is respecting the architecture of the pot. Let the aromatics simmer in the fat of the coconut milk before the rice goes in, and let the Scotch bonnet pepper swim whole. It’s there for a fragrant, tropical aroma, not a fiery ambush. Build the flavor, seal the pot, and absolutely do not peek.
Before you start
Place the rice in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse it under cold water until the water runs completely clear.
This strips away the surface starches and is your absolute best defense against a gummy, sticky pot.
Ingredients
- dark red kidney beans with liquid15 1/2 oz
- full-fat coconut milk13 1/2 oz
- long-grain white rice2 cup
- water or low-sodium chicken broth1 1/2 cup
- scallions3 med
- fresh thyme5 sprigs
- garlic3 med
- whole pimento berries1 tsp
- Scotch bonnet pepper1 whole
- kosher salt1 tsp
- butter or coconut oil1 tbsp
Method
- 01
In a heavy-bottomed pot, combine the kidney beans and their liquid, coconut milk, water, scallions, garlic, thyme, pimento berries, salt, and butter.
Do not drain those beans; that starchy canning liquid is absolute gold, providing both the necessary color and a depth of authentic flavor.
- 02
Carefully drop the whole Scotch bonnet pepper into the pot, bring to a rolling boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
This pre-simmer is the grandmother's secret, forcing the herbs and spices to release their essential oils directly into the coconut fat before the rice is introduced.
- 03
Stir the washed rice into the simmering broth and bring the heat back up to medium.
Gently stir just once to ensure the rice is evenly distributed, and wait until you see the liquid bubbling enthusiastically around the edges.
- 04
Place a sheet of aluminum foil tightly over the rim of the pot and press the heavy lid down firmly on top of it to create a seal.
The foil creates an impermeable gasket, trapping the pressurized steam generated by the coconut milk to cook the rice perfectly and evenly.
- 05
Reduce the heat to its absolute lowest setting and leave the pot completely undisturbed for 30 minutes.
Do not peek; releasing the steam will instantly ruin the thermodynamics of the cooking process.
- 06
Turn off the heat and let the pot sit on the warm stove for another 10 minutes to allow the starches to set.
- 07
Remove the lid and foil, carefully extract the Scotch bonnet pepper immediately, and fluff the rice gently with a fork.
Discard the pepper before it can accidentally burst, pick out the woody thyme stems, and serve the perfectly separated, earthy pink grains.
From Cook Jamaican in America.