Belizean Food Recipes

[Redsoxfan11]

I don't know if this is the right place to post this but we did a cave tucing trip with Major Tom and I fell in love with the stewed chicken and the rice and beans. I tried a variety of recipes that I found online but none of them tasted the way I had remembered. I went on Major Tom's site to look at pictures and reminisce and saw a link to check out Belizean recipes. Well I made them exactly to the letter and I just finished a meal that tasted like I was in Belize, complete with Marie Sharp's Belizean Heat Hot sauce.

 

 

BELIZEAN RICE & BEANS

 

1/2 pound red kidney beans

2 cups rice

1 cup thick coconut milk

1 medium onion (sliced)

1/2 bell (green) pepper

1 clove garlic (optional)

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

 

Cover beans in water, and soak overnight. Put beans in pot, add onions, bell pepper, garlic, and enough water to boil until beans are tender and whole. Add coconut milk, and seasonings. Add rice to beans, and cook over gentle heat until liquid is absorbed. Stir gently with a fork, and add a little water as necessary, until rice is cooked.

 

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STEWED CHICKEN

 

Note: This recipe applies to most any meat. It is especially good with chicken. Delete sugar for meat other than chicken.

 

Chicken (this can be whole chicken, or chicken parts of your choice)

2 teaspoons sugar

2 tablespoon cooking oil

1 medium onion (sliced)

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon lea & perrins sauce

1/2 green (bell) pepper (strips or diced)

black pepper salt (or use seasoned salt) garlic powder (or 1 clove garlic) water

 

Slice onion and bell pepper, and set aside. Sprinkle chicken lightly with salt (or seasoned salt), black pepper, and garlic powder. If using garlic clove, mince clove and add to chicken when you add water.

 

Heat oil in pot, and add sugar. Sugar will caramelize (this is what gives the chicken colour). Add chicken and brown it well. Add onions and green pepper, and cook for a couple minutes. Add vinegar and lea & perrins sauce to a cup of water, and add to pot. Cook on medium to medium-low heat till done. (If using garlic cloves, add at this time). Keep adding water as needed to make gravy. This dish is very popular, and is served with stewed beans, split peas, rice and beans, or white rice cooked in coconut milk.

 

Fried or baked plantain usually accompanies this dish. Most Sundays in Belize, you will find Red Beans & Rice, Fried Plantain, Potato Salad, and Stewed Chicken on the menu.

 

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BELIZEAN POTATO SALAD

 

2 pounds potatoes (peel, dice and boil until tender, drain & cool)

1 pound frozen mix vegetables, cooked per package instructions. (May also use canned mix vegetables)

5 eggs (hard boiled), diced

3/4 cup miracle whip salad dressing

1 tablespoon prepared mustard

salt & ground black pepper to taste

 

Let potatoes and mix vegetables cool before handling. Place potatoes, mix vegetables, and eggs in a bowl, and toss. Season with salt and black pepper to taste ( remember you can always add more seasoning, so start with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper). Add 1 tablespoon mustard to 3/4 cup miracle whip salad dressing. Stir until mustard is mixed in with salad dressing, and add to potato mixture. Stir. There are several variations on this potato salad: add diced onions and bell (green) pepper, or cooked macaroni, or canned mix vegetables and/or green peas, or try different salad dressing or mayonnaise.

 

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Fried Plantains

 

Serves 4 as a side dish to fried or baked Fish, Pork Chops, Chicken or soups

 

4 Plantains, Green (they look like bananas)

3 cloves Garlic, mashed

1 tbsp. Salt

1 quart Water

1 pint Vegetable oil for frying

 

Mash garlic with salt to a paste. Add to Water and stir well to mix.

 

Score plantains skin deep along opposite sides and trim of tips 1/2 inch at each end. Under running water peel off skin (makes peeling easier). Cut peeled green plantains into pieces 1 inch thick and place in Garlic water to soak. Do not discard garlic water when plantain is removed later.

 

Wash, dry then dice Fat Back into 1/2 inch pieces. Fry in vegetable oil to a golden crisp and drain well on paper towel.

 

Take pieces of plantain drain well and fry in deep oil being careful not to splatter hot oil. Fry to a deep yellow color (do not brown) and drain off oil on paper towel. Flatten fried plantain on wax paper, rewet slightly mashed plantain in original reserved garlic water, shake off excess water and return to hot oil for 1.5 minutes drain off excess oil and place in deep bowl until all pieces have been processed.

[KAWS]

Excellent! Thanks for posting this. That meal was fantastic wasn't it? So simple, yet so delicious. Almost everyone that has it has rave reviews.

 

My DIL is THE pickiest thing on the face of the earth and even she still raves about that meal and wants it again when we go back to

Belize next month. Yummy - that works for me!

[Pssunshinegal]

Redsocks,

 

Glad this worked out for you. I have never found a recipe that did not include Recado, which is the spice that Belizeans use to make their stewed chicken. You can buy it anywhere in Belize should you like the taste of Belizean stewed chicken. I have not tried to get it in the US because I make enough trips to Belize to bring it home. You mention the carmelized sugar, but did it really give the red/maroon color to the chicken?

 

Making me hungry for stewed chicken.

 

Janice

[GranmaFL]

Thank you, RedSoxFan11. I am always looking for such recipies.

[Redsoxfan11]

Redsocks,

 

Glad this worked out for you. I have never found a recipe that did not include Recado, which is the spice that Belizeans use to make their stewed chicken. You can buy it anywhere in Belize should you like the taste of Belizean stewed chicken. I have not tried to get it in the US because I make enough trips to Belize to bring it home. You mention the carmelized sugar, but did it really give the red/maroon color to the chicken?

 

Making me hungry for stewed chicken.

 

Janice

 

It did make a nice deep color. I was surprised at how similar it was to what I had in Belize. Is recado like achiote? I'll have to add some the next time I make a batch. I'll have to do a little googling and order some Recado. Thanks for the tip. :)

[Pssunshinegal]

It did make a nice deep color. I was surprised at how similar it was to what I had in Belize. Is recado like achiote? I'll have to add some the next time I make a batch. I'll have to do a little googling and order some Recado. Thanks for the tip. :)

 

I had to google achiote to see what it was as it was not a name I was familiar with. It says that achiote is an ingredient in ricado (their spelling), although I know recado is the correct spelling. When I looked at the packages of achiote it looks identical to the recado. I had thought it was used as a rub, but when I asked in Belize, the answer was always no and I was surprised at how little is used.

 

I have tried to explain how the rice may have only 10 beans in a cup to my S.American and Cuban friends. They find it so strange that they would bother to put beans in and not yet beans themselves as a big item. I love the whole area.

 

Janice