Delicious Rice with Black Beans
Rice with Black Beans is a wonderful side dish to have in your cooking repertoire. It is a tasty rice dish consisting of black beans that are known for being high in protein and fiber. The perfect side dish to serve with Eggplant with Blue Crabs!
One reason to make Rice with Black Beans is that it is a versatile dish. It is perfect with meatless stews such as Meatless Jute Leaves Stew or Simple Spicy Pork Shoulder.
The ingredients you will need to make the recipe
- Dried black beans – (use a brand you trust)
- Garlic clove: fresh is always better – you may want to use more if you want.
- Olive oil: you may use coconut oil, or grapessed oil
- Cured pork (endui), bacon or ham – this ingredient is optional but it makes a huge difrerence. I prefer endui and ham because of the flavors.
- Ground cloves: it is better to use ground cloves insted of whole cloves. It could be very unpleasant to chew on a whole clove by accident.
- Noubess Original Hot and Spicy Sauce: this sauce is phenomenal with rice. If you do not have the hot and spicy saice, you can use crushed pepper flakes. I would not recommend using a hot sauce as some brands may contain too much vinegar.
- White/red onion or shallots: use what you prefer and have on hand.
- Red bell peppers: you can also use orange or yellow. Green bell peppers have a stronger taste and taste better in stews than rice in my opinion.
- Ground paprika: smoked or hot paprika will work.
- Chicken bouillon or 2 cubes, crushed: click on the link to seee my prefered brand. I prefer using a chiclen bouillon that contains low sodium as it is easier to control the seasoning. You can use a seasoning salt but again not all seasoning salts are the same. Use one with more flavor than sodium.
- Bean cooking liquid add hot water if necessary to obtain 3 cups: the bean cooking liquid is better but the hot water is fine as well. Please do not add cold water, this will disrupt the flavors.
- Long-grain rice: Jasmine rice is my preference because of the taste. You can use your own. Make sure that you add enought liquid so the rice cooks evenly.
- Fresh Parsley: you can dried or fresh whatever you have on hand.
- Fresh Thyme: you can also use dried or fresh and even powdered thyme.
Notes and Tips for making Rice with Black Beans
To make the most delicious rice dish, follow these tips for recipe success:
- Use good quality rice. Whatever your preference, you can choose short-grain, medium-grain or long-grain rice. Just remember that the cooking might be different.
- Always remove any debris (tiny rocks) and wash the black beans before cooking.
- Use fresh or dried herbs for best results and not your homemade green seasoning which may contain lemon juice or vinegar.
- You can use Maggi bouillon cubes if you prefer or any other brand of the chicken bouillon will do.
- Fresh thyme and fresh parsley add a great aroma to cooking rice.
- Pan-fry the cooked beans with spices before adding the water and rice.
- Adding Endui, salted ham or bacon is optional if you are vegan.
- Boil the water before adding to the rice.
- You can cover the pan with aluminum foil first and then use the pan cover to tightly seal in the steam.
- You can use brown rice but it will take a bit longer to cook and the beans will be overcooked.
What Rice is Best with beans?
White rice is great. It has a mild flavor and light and fluffy texture when cooked.
Jasmine Rice is ideal because the grains soak up the spices and flavors very well. It also has a pleasant aroma while it is cooking.
Basmati rice is also a great choice because of its pleasant, and nutty aroma. A tasty choice when serving rice with vegetable or meat stew.
What to Serve with Rice and Black Beans
This recipe is the perfect starchy side dish that pairs well with saucy recipes like Spicy Coconut Stew or Oxtail. It’s the perfect side dish for a 3 to 5-course meal too.
Leftover rice will keep in the fridge for up to four days or in the freezer for up to four months.
How to Reheat Rice
To reheat rice on the stovetop, use either a skillet or pan. You can either use a little bit of oil or butter to help the rice and beans loosen up a bit. Adding a little bit of water might help also but not necessary if reheating under low heat. If the rice is sticking to the bottom of the pan or burning, add very little water at a time if necessary.
Reheating rice in a microwave is a good option as well. No additional oil or butter is needed. But you may need a few drops of water if the rice needs some moisture.
Other Rice recipes to enjoy
Rice with Black Beans
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry black beans
- 1 garlic clove
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 3 – 4 pieces of cured pork endui, bacon or ham, optional
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp Noubess Original Hot and Spicy Sauce
- ½ cup finely diced white/red onion or shallots
- ¼ cup finely diced red bell peppers
- ½ tsp ground paprika
- 2 tbsp chicken bouillon or 2 cubes, crushed
- 3 cups bean cooking liquid add hot water if necessary to obtain 3 cups
- 2 cups long-grain rice
- 1 sprig parsley
- 1 sprig thyme
Instructions
- Sort and wash beans at least twice. In a large pot, add cleaned beans, 8 cups of water, 1 whole garlic clove and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat, with the lid ajar, until beans are fully cooked for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Drain and reserve the cooking liquid.
- In a large pan, over medium heat, heat 2 tbsp of oil. Add beans, cured pork, ground cloves, and Noubess Original Hot and Spicy Sauce. Saute until the beans are crispy, about 4 – 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the beans mixture to a plate.
- In the same pan, add the remaining oil. Add onion or shallots, diced red bell peppers, ground paprika, and chicken bouillon. Saute for 3 – 5 minutes stirring constantly.
- Add bean cooking liquid, parsley, and thyme, then bring to a boil over high heat.
- In the meantime, wash the rice several times (2 – 3 times), and drain. When the bean liquid starts to boil, add rice, sauteed bean mixture. Gently spread the mixture with a spoon. Bring to a boil and lower heat to medium. Cook uncovered until the water evaporates. Lower the heat to the low setting, gently scrape the bottom of the pan, cover the pan tightly and cook undisturbed for 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from the stovetop. Discard thyme and parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
Variations:
Add 2 – 3 tablespoons unsweetened fresh or canned coconut milk (reduce cooking liquid or water if using).Nutrition
Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on the products used.
Nutrition info is automatically generated and provided as a courtesy and as an estimate only.
