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1
Soak and boil the kidney beans
12 Mins + Overnight Soak
Boiling water, 100°C (212°F)
Cover the soaked beans with fresh cold water and boil for 10 minutes, then lower the heat and simmer until the beans are just tender but not splitting, about 45 minutes. Drain, keeping 500 ml of the bean cooking liquid.
Boiling the beans hard for the first 10 minutes is the classic way to cook dried kidney beans safely.
Done when: Beans tender when squeezed, skins intact, not mushy.
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2
Soften the onion, garlic and thyme
5 Mins
Medium heat, about 175°C (350°F)
Heat the oil in a heavy pot, add the onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, thyme and black pepper and cook for 1 minute more until fragrant.
Do not brown the onion — soft and sweet is what the rice needs.
Done when: Onion soft and translucent, garlic fragrant.
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3
Add beans, coconut milk and rice
5 Mins
High heat to the boil, 100°C (212°F)
Add the drained beans, coconut milk, 300 ml of the reserved bean liquid and the salt. Bring to a boil, then stir in the rinsed rice and the whole habanero. The liquid should sit about 2 cm above the rice.
The bean liquid is what gives the rice its pink colour — use it, not plain water.
Done when: Rice evenly mixed through the beans and milk, liquid just covering.
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4
Simmer low and slow
25 Mins
Low heat, gentle simmer about 95°C (200°F)
Cover tightly, lower the heat to the lowest setting and cook for 25 minutes without lifting the lid. The rice steams in the coconut milk and takes on the bean colour.
Resist peeking — every lift of the lid lets out the steam the rice needs.
Done when: Liquid absorbed, rice swollen and pink-tinged.
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5
Rest, fluff and serve
10 Mins
Off the heat, covered, cooling from about 95°C (200°F)
Take the pot off the heat and rest, covered, for 10 minutes. Lift out the whole habanero, then fluff the rice gently with a fork so the beans stay whole. Serve hot.
Fluffing with a fork, not a spoon, keeps the grains separate and the beans unbroken.
Done when: Grains separate and fluffy, beans whole, no liquid left in the pot.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Spoon the rice and beans onto warm plates next to the stew chicken, letting the chicken gravy run over the rice — that is how it is eaten in Belize.
Belize
40m
Italy
Thailand