Wiki Tiki’s Rasta Rice

This is quite amazingly good. It is inexpensive although it looks classy and gives big-style flavor. We were looking for a Caribbean-style side dish to go with some jerk-flavored steaks we were planning on grilling.
We scoured the cabinets, and came up with this little keeper.
We call it “Rasta Rice” because it has all of the rasta colors – black, yellow, red and green.

It is Irie – ya mon! Put on some old school reggae and calypso – as you make this.
Here is my suggested iPod music mix to accompany this meal.
This is da “real” irie rastaman and old school calypso jams..not pseudo “dancehall rasta” dubs and remixes.
Some older lesser known, but excellent Bob Marley tunes here.

Lonesome Track – Bob Marley and the Wailers
Where’s Sammy Gone – Bob Marley
The Conquerer 64 – Derrick Morgan
Give Us a Break – The Slickers
Ice Water – Bob Marley
Simmer Down – Bob Marley and the Wailers
Israelites – Desmond Dekker
Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)- The Techniques
Around the World – The Skatalites
Grooving Kingston 12 – Bob Marley and the Wailers
The Harder They Come – Jimmy Cliff
0.0.7. (Shanty Town) – Desmond Dekker
Trinidad Steel Pan Reggae – CPM
Small Axe – Bob Marley and the Wailers
Jerk All Night – Bob Marley and the Wailers
Lion in the Jungle – Julian Marley
Maga Dog – Bob Marley and the Wailers
Cool Rasta – The Heptones
Goombay – The Playmates
Sinsemilla – Black Uhuru
Innocent – Bunny Wailer
One Love – Bob Marley
Carnival- Lord Invader
Yo Tink it Sorf – Calypsoul 70
Kaya – Bob Marley
Montego Bay – Freddie Notes and The Rudies
Bambouche – Duke of Iron
Crucial – Bunny Wailer
Do the Beng Beng – Derrick Morgan
Slow Boat to Trinidad – Dr. Calypso

Ingredients for Rasta Rice

1 Box of Zatarain’s Yellow Rice
1 nice ripe tomato
1 can of black beans – drained and rinsed well
1 bunch of green onion chopped fine
Box of organic chicken broth
Dried or fresh thyme
Grace Caribbean Season-All
Grace Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Pepper Sauce
Sea Salt and Pepper
Parsley

Optional or alternate preparation:
3 strips of bacon
1/2 cup ham in very fine dice
1/2 white onion -chopped into dice
1/4 cup green pepper
1 clove of garlic

If making alternate preparation, dice bacon and render grease. Saute onion till translucent and green pepper for a bit, then add garlic. Add ham and set aside.

Fill pan with 1.5 cups of chicken broth, add 1 cup of water. Bring to boil. When boiling add black beans, rice mix from package, and tomato. (If doing alternate prep, add bacon, onion, green pepper, garlic mixture now.)

Add a pinch of dryed Jamaican thyme (or whatever you have be it dried or fresh) a pinch of sea salt and a twist of fresh ground pepper, and put a tight fitting lid on the pot.
In Jamaica they would add a few grains of whole allspice (pimento as it is called) for extra aroma and flavor.
Boil for a little bit, then turn down heat to low simmer, and simmer for 20-25 minutes depending on your stove.

BTW, If you wanted to make this genuine Jamaican “nyam”, you would poke a whole Scotch Bonnet pepper a few times with a fork and then float it on top, like is done with Jamaican Rice and Peas. It does add a negligible bit of heat, but not a ridiculous or overpowering amount, the fruity flavor of the Scotch Bonnet is what comes through and it makes it tastes like pure Jamaican Ital cuisine though if you have ever had it in Jamaica.

It is a fruit-like herby aroma and flavor that is very distinctive and representative of Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine in general. You want to wait till you start the low simmer though, so the pepper doesn’t burst, or it will indeed get seriously hot.

When the rice is done, take the lid off and fluff with a fork, and add chopped green onions and fold them in.
This is especially nice with a grilled steak and a complimentary wine. Surprisingly, although this is red meat, I find I like a chilled white wine with this instead of the customary red wine. It helps cool down some of the spiciness of the jerk preparation.

I made myself a jerk-seasoned chuck eye, Mrs. Wiki Tiki had a ribeye which is her favorite. I am very fond of chuck-eye myself, it is referred to as the “poor man’s ribeye” and is like a ribeye, without the ribeye price.

When it was done, I brought it in after hitting medium rare for me, and medium for her, and after letting it rest and the juices draw back some, sliced it up into bite sized thin slices. Then I made a bed of the Rasta Rice, and put the slices of jerk steak on top passed a little warmed Grace Jerk BBQ sauce over the slices, gave it a sprinkle of freshly chopped green onion, and a dusting of Grace Caribbean Season All and a few dabs of Scotch Bonnet Caribbean pepper sauce (yeah, I like it Hot).

We both loved this recipe, and it is a keeper big time…a happy serendipity.
All you need to round this out is a simple tomato/cucumber salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic, and a nice bottle of wine of your choice and a bowl of fresh tropical fruit.

Cheese board to finish (some very nice baby stilton) with a small dry sherry or port, and then the hookah pipe for both of us with some wonderful molasses/apple/clove shisha and sipping some more white wine.
We are two way happy (stuffed) campers as I type this.

(This preparation would be wonderful with chicken breasts, pork medallions or a nice firm fleshed fish filet.)

It is so-ooo Irie! (yummy)
Enjoy mon!

~ by kingwikitiki on January 1, 2010.