Phafofood sticky rice tutorial

Ingredients for 6 people or 3 hungry people

• 2 cups of rice (about 400 g)
• 4 tablespoons of oil
• 1 tablespoon of Grangou Marinade (epis)
• 2 cups black or red beans
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper (optional)
• 1 onion
• 1 sprig of dried thyme
• 600 ml of cooking juice from the beans (twice as much liquid as rice)
• 1 teaspoon of salt

Preparation of the recipe

Making sticky rice isn't very complicated!

1- Boil a cup of black (or red) beans in a saucepan with about five cups of water and turn off the heat after an hour or until it is possible to easily crush a bean between your thumb and thumb. 'index. In addition to softening, they might also double in size by absorbing water (becoming two cups). Avoid letting everything dry out too much so it doesn't burn and end up with a mixture of five cups (peas and cooking water).

2- Heat a saucepan to high temperature and add four tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add a tablespoon of Marinade Grangou (Haitian marinade, epis ) and let the mixture take on a golden color. Add a chopped onion to the mixture and let the pieces caramelize. Add a chili pepper (optional) before stirring everything in the pan.

3- Pour the peas with the cooking water into the oil containing the other ingredients. It is possible to use canned peas, but you will lose a lot of flavor in the final dish. Add a sprig of thyme to the water and let the water boil. Add a teaspoon of salt or to taste.

4- Wash the two cups of rice and add it to the mixture to have a ratio of 1/2 with the four cups of boiling household liquid. In short, rice should be half the quality of water. Stir very lightly for 5 seconds to distribute the rice in the mixture, while avoiding crushing the already softened peas. Otherwise, the collagen inside the legumes will leach into the water and make the rice mushy when cooked. Leave to boil so that the mixture dries out and once dry, put on a low heat and cover for twenty minutes.

5- Lift the lid to check that the rice is well cooked. If necessary, cover for a few more minutes to cook to taste. All that remains is to serve yourself and add some pikliz !

There you go, enjoy your meal!

History behind the dish

Glued rice, or diri kole in Creole, is the national rice of Haiti. A cultural and historical symbol of capital importance, it is nevertheless a relatively common dish among the different nations of the Antilles, and it is found in one form or another practically everywhere in Central America. Jamaica has already called it its “coat of arms”, the eternal rice an' peas that they prepare with the seasoning of pimento or allspice seeds. While Haiti uses epis (Marinade Grangou), a mixture of Haitian spices which is the basis of the majority of dishes from the country of Dessalines. In Spanish-speaking countries, we hear about arroz con frijoles or Moros y Cristianos.

If we leave aside the peculiarities of Spanish culture for a minute and redirect ourselves to Haitian history, we note that after independence in 1804 - during the establishment of the First Empire of Haiti - many Freedmen and Europeans relocated to Louisiana with an important culinary background, notably sticky rice and chayote. According to some sources, this is the origin of the red beans and rice which is so popular today in New Orleans, favorite dish of Louis Armstrong and inspiration for the hit by Booker T. & the MGs

So what is the origin of stuck rice? Is there a common root with all these other rice and bean or pea dishes? Some historians say yes. We immediately notice that the countries where this dish is important in the cuisine are countries with a past marked by slavery. Some believe that African dishes like Waakye of Hausa origin, found mainly in Ghana, or Congolese Loso na Madesu are the precursors of recipes used today in America. The similarities are in all cases striking! According to this theory, Africans brought to the New World began cooking familiar dishes as a survival mechanism in the hostile environment in which they found themselves. A way to nourish the soul as well as the body, sticky rice is noted to be high in calories, easy to cook and the ingredients are relatively simple to grow.

We really like sticky rice for this familiarity and comforting taste, but also for its adaptability: it combines wonderfully with the stews and sauces that dominate Haitian cuisine, as well as with anything fried in the pot. He has the ability to absorb the taste of anything and emphasize it with an indefinable charm. You don't even need to cook on the side if you think about it. Who hasn't already eaten a simple rice paste with a few spoons of the famous Haitian pikliz in it? We quickly notice that we don't need much to be happy. And if we are aware of the history of this dish, and we realize that it is practically a symbol of the survival of people of African origin in America in troubled centuries, we can be proud when eating this food of champions. Suddenly our humble sticky rice takes on great flavor!