Recipe
2 cups parboiled brown rice (picked and washed)
4 cups chicken stock or fresh coconut milk
1 cup of pigeon peas
1 pound salted pig tails
1 tablespoon fresh crushed garlic
1 tablespoon fresh crushed ginger
1 habanero pepper (optional- if you cannot handle heat and just want the flavor do not cut the pepper, leave it whole)
1 tablespoon green seasoning
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 cup of cubed celery
1/2 cup of cubed sweet pepper
1/2 cup of cubed carrots
3-4 sprigs of thyme
2 piemento peppers (optional)
1 onion sliced thin
2 tablespoon Golden Ray butter
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Directions
Place your pigeon peas (if its not from the can) along with the salted pigtails into a pot with water and let this come to a boil. After it has been boiling for about 10 minutes, remove from heat, drain water and refill with clean water. Place on the stove to boil again for another 10 minutes.
We are simply trying to get as much salt out of the pig tails as possible. I like to boil my pigeon peas as well before I put it in with my cookup as it does not get enough cook-time with the rice.
While this is being done prepare all your vegetables. Prepare these ahead of time. As they all go into the pot at the same time.
On medium heat, place a large, preferable non stick pot on the stove. Pour the oil. Add sugar. Very important step is the browning of the sugar. NOT burning.
Once your sugar is in the pot you want to stir it. I usually stir mine until it starts to bubble (look at picture). Once the sugar looks dark brown and is bubbling, add your washed rice, pigtail and peas. All at the same time. Mix this to combine and to let the sugar brown everything.
You will see the rice, pigtails and peas all start to look brown in color. This is good. Now add in the rest of your seasonings and vegetables and salt, all with the exception of the cilantro and the butter. Stir. Once the rice has fried a little and it just starts to stick to the pot add in your chicken broth or coconut milk. (I used chicken broth because I am lactose intolerant) Using Coconut milk is the real way we make it in Trinidad. Let this come to a boil. Once it starts to bubble, place the cover on the pot and do not remove it for 30 minutes. Make sure your flame is on medium heat.
After 30 minutes the liquid should have cooked off and the rice should be cooked, turn off the heat. This is when you add your golden ray butter and your cilantro. Golden ray butter is a salted butter that adds a special flavor to our Caribbean cooking. We add it to basically everything at the end of the cooking process.
I hope you try it. If you do not like pig tails…you can substitute that with chicken or salted beef. If you are using chicken then no boiling ahead of time.
