Cook Up Rice

We don't keep a lot of parboiled rice in the house now that I'm married to a Filipino with Pinoy kids. We mostly eat long grain rice, Rooster to be exact. I have no problem with it but you cannot use it for some Guyanese dishes. Now that we are in quarantine it has been difficult to get Guyanese food I wouldn't have to make myself, because mom isn't a short drive away. So I asked Enrique to pick up a bag of Mr Goudas parboiled rice when he made these quest-worthy grocery runs so I could make a pot of cook up rice.

My grandmother and my mother made the best cook up. My mother adds pigtail. This is the absolute best. I love pigtail. It's delicious. Most people don't know how to cook it and they are missing out. If you can get the butcher to chop it up in the store then it's little work to wash and clean before you cook. If you want (as I did in the picture below) you can cook it without any meat and have it bare or with meat on the side. This dish is not picky. My mom uses kidney beans, but I prefer to leave them out. As you continue to make it, you will find the combination that best suits you.

I had no worries that you would like this, Alexis. Alistair, on the other hand, I know you are picky and your allergies give you an aversion to any beans or peas. But somehow, the flavour and texture of the rice outweighed the texture of the peas and he ate the whole bowl. I couldn't be happier. My kids have a bit of Guyanese in them still.

So through social distancing I resorted to cooking a staple that my mother always made for me and it turned out to be delicious. Now if I can only get my hands on some pigtail I'm set.

Ingredients:
Parboiled Rice		2 cups
Black Eye Peas		1 can, rinsed
Pigeon Peas		1 can, rinsed
Salt Beef / Pigtail / Chicken		1 lb, washed and cut into 1" pieces
Coconut Milk or Coconut Cream		1 can Milk or 1/2 block of cream, chopped
Onion		1 large, diced
Garlic		1 head, sliced
Marmite		2 tbsp
Chicken Bullion		1 cube / 1 tbsp
Thyme		3 sprigs fresh or 2 tbsp dried
Dried Basil		2 tbsp
Bay Leaf		2-3
Black Pepper		1 tsp, ground
Sea Salt		1 tbsp
Canola Oil		2 tbsp
Water		8 cups

Preparation:

1. Clean, wash and chop meat (salt beef, pigtail or chicken) into 1" pieces. Soak and rinse the salt beef or pigtail until they are clear of the brine.
2. Wash the rice until it the water runs clear.
3. In a large pot, heat canola oil on medium heat. 
4. Saute the onions, garlic, thyme, basil and bay leaf until they are translucent.
5. Add the washed rice and stir to coat, toasting it lightly in the oil and spices for a few minutes until the rice looses opacity.
6. Add the meat and stir until it has mixed with the rice. 
7. Add the black eye peas and pigeon peas, and stir well. Do not let the rice burn at the bottom of the pot! Slightly over medium heat should work, but lower it if needed until you are ready to add the water.
8. While making sure the contents of the pot do not burn, add the last ingredients before adding any liquid (the chicken bullion, marmite, black pepper, and sea salt). 
9. If you are using coconut cream instead of coconut milk, add it now. 
10. Turn the heat up to medium high and stir this in until the marmite has coated everything. If it seems sparse add a little more; this is where you will get the bulk of the colour and the flavour.
11. With the heat up, pour in the coconut milk (if you are not using coconut cream).
12. Pour in the water and stir well.
13. Half cover the pot so steam can escape and turn the heat down to medium. If the heat is too high and the pot is covered, the food will scorch at the bottom of the pot.
14. Let the rice simmer gently for 20-30 minutes. Check and stir occasionally to make sure the rice does not burn and the liquid is distributed. Do not stir often, or your rice will end up mushy.
15. When there is no liquid left and the texture appears coated but not dry, the rice is done. Turn off the heat, preferably take the pot of the heat, and leave the lid cracked open. Covered will steam and clump the food, and open will let too much heat out.
16. I like to add a couple whole peppers, but you kids would not eat so I add pepper to my dish alone. If you want to add peppers, I suggest adding them whole after adding the water, and breaking them up once the cook up has finished cooking.