This warm and flavorful dish will blow your mind about Surinamese cuisine.
From our guest blogger: Nandita Ramlakhan of the Spiced Chickpea.
This post is part of #myfoodmyheritage initiative: bloggers and food lovers share their favorite dish from their cultural roots, it can be a dish that evokes their childhood memories, a dish that has been taught and evolved from one generation to another, a dish that features a special ingredient that specific to your origin. To participate #myfoodmyheritage initiative, you can either leave a comment below with your dish idea or publish a post on Instagram with #myfoodmyheritage hashtag. You want to see your recipe. Join us!
“Cannot live without my spices”–That’s what Nandita’s written in her Instagram bio. That’s exactly what I know her about. In her feed, there are not only authentic Surinamese cuisine but many other fusion dishes. She is very proud of her Surinamese origin and like me, an occasional but passionate cake maker. I’m always inspired by her recipes, colorful presentations, and the invitation to new flavors. That’s why I invited her to share the recipe of her favorite Surinamese dish: Brown beans and rice. I hope you enjoy it! And I’m going to get my hands on some Madame Jeanette peppers. :-p
Qi
Hello,
I’m Nandita, My dear friend Qi asked me to be a guest blogger on her website, but more importantly to write something about Surinamese food. Surinamese whaaat? Yes, the Surinamese cuisine!
You see, I was born in Surinam, a country which is lesser known in South-America, but nonetheless a beautiful country. My family and I moved to the Netherlands in the 90’s., and as a Dutch girl of Surinamese descent, I’m very grateful for my roots which can be traced back all the way to India!
Surinam is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean in the north, by Guyana in the west, by French Guyana in the east and by Brazil in the south. The country is known for its diverse population and consists of people from the Netherlands, Africa, China, Indonesia, India as well as indigenous people.
“Surinamese people might speak Dutch, but they don’t eat Dutch”
– Diane Dubois in The Taste of Surinam
With a dynamic population, one can only imagine what the cuisine must be like in Surinam. Well, let me tell you this, and I will be very bias here 😉 It has a very rich, interesting and delicious cuisine unlike the rest of South-America. You can say it’s a combination of Indian, Javanese, African, Chinese, Dutch, Jewish, Portuguese and Amerindian (native American) cuisines which have influenced the population a lot. As a result of this, the new Surinamese dishes occurred, including: roti (Hindustani stuffed flat bread with potato or yellow lentils served with chicken masala, veggies like yard long beans, cabbage, and mango chutney), nasi and mi goreng (Javanese fried rice and noodles), pom (oven dish made with arrow leaf elephant ear root a.k.a. “pomtajer”), moksi alesi (mixed rice with salt-cured meat, dried shrimp and fish) and brown beans and rice.
The above dishes are mostly served on festive occasions, but basic foods include rice, plants, and roots such as tayer or cassava. In addition to this, we also eat lots of salted stock fish “bakkeljauw” or salt-cured meat and for vegetables yard long beans, okra, bitter lemon, and eggplants are widely used. But I guess the most important element of all our dishes is the Madame Jeanette pepper or the “Surinamese yellow pepper”. This pepper is shaped like a small bell pepper but has a Habanero-like heat and leaves a delicious aromatic flavor in your dish.
My favorite Surinamese comfort food dish with a twist!
Today, I will be sharing my Mom’s recipe of one of my favorite Surinamese comfort food dishes. It’s a delicious one pot meal and you’ve read it above in English: Brown Beans with rice, but in Dutch we know this dish as “Bruine Bonen met rijst”, or abbreviated BBR. Brown beans are a staple in many households around the world and make a cheap food option, yet they are delicious and easy to make. In the original Surinamese brown beans and rice recipe, salt-cured meat is used and the beans are flavored with lontai and bay leaves. However, my mom’s version is totally different and uses Chinese spices for seasoning, chicken legs which are first browned and caramelized, bell peppers for that sweet and crunchy note and of course a Madame Jeanette for that aromatic scent. It’s Brown beans and rice at a different level, but so tasty! At home, we serve this dish with sautéed yard long beans and pickled cucumber and onions.
Brown beans and rice (BBR)
Prep
Cook
Inactive
Total
Yield 2 servings
This recipe serves 2 persons. Please double for more servings.
Ingredients
- 1 white onion
- 2 garlic cloves (1 for chicken, 1 for BBR)
- 1/2 cup red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup green bell pepper
- 1/2 cup yellow bell pepper
- 330 gr cooked brown beans in a jar
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 Madame Jeanette (or yellow Scotch Bonnet) pepper
- 1 chicken thigh
- 1 smoked sausage
- 1/2 tbsp. of oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp. of hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp. of light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp five spice powder
- 1 tsp pimento powder
- 1 tbsp. tomato puree for in the BBR
- 1 Maggie stock cube
- 3 tbsp. of sunflower oil
- 1 spring onion
- a few sprigs of celery leaves
Instructions
1. Prepare the chicken by removing the skin (optional) and cutting it into pieces. Marinate the chicken with the oyster sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Chinese five spice powder, pimento powder, 1 Maggie stock cube and 1 minced garlic clove. Set the chicken aside and let this marinate for an hour or so.
2. Prepare your vegetables and cut the onions, bell peppers into cubes, mince 1 garlic clove and finely slice the spring onions and celery leaves. Also, cut your sausage into slices and set this all aside.
3. After an hour of marinating put 2 tbsp. of oil in a pan and cook your chicken pieces (there will be some marinate left to use as a flavor enhancer in your BBR) until they are golden brown and cooked through. This takes about 15/20 mins on a medium heat. It’s important that your chicken develops a nice brown color, as this will flavor the sauce in the Brown Beans.
4. Remove the chicken, in the same pan, add 1 tbsp. of oil. Put the onions and minced garlic in the pan. After a few minutes add the tomato paste, 1 whole Madame Jeanette, the sausages, the chicken and the brown beans. Stir well and add 1 1/2 cup of water. Cook the beans for 10 mins under low heat and mash a few beans to thicken the sauce.
5. After the beans are cooked, turn up the heat and add all the bell peppers. Cook for another 5 minutes or, but make sure the bell peppers still have their crunch.
6. Check the seasoning (at this point you can add some of the marinate, but make sure you taste your BBR after it reaches boiling point, as the marinate contained raw meat!) and finish the BBR with spring onions and celery leaves.
Serve the BBR with Basmati rice, stir-fried yard long beans (recipe below) and pickled onions, or simply eat this delicious goodness straight from a bowl while watching your favourite Netflix series 😉
Courses Main
Cuisine Surinamese
If you like green beans these yard long beans won’t disappoint you. They are very crispy, delicious and nutritious (I love how this rhymes). They also hold their shape very well. So, do use them in a curry, stew, salad, glaze them or pair them up with some Indian dal. Trust me on this one, you won’t regret eating them!
Sautéed Yard Long Beans
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 2 servings
Ingredients
- Yard Long Beans (a bundle)
- 1 garlic
- half of a white onion
- 1 Maggie stock cube or kosher salt
- 1 tbsp. of cooking oil
- 2 tbsp. of water
- a few slices of Madame Jeanette pepper
Instructions
1. Wash the yard long beans whole and cut them into 2 cm pieces. Finely chop the onions, garlic and Madame Jeanette pepper and set it aside.
2. Put a tablespoon of oil in a pan and cook the onions, garlic, Madame Jeanette slices with a Maggie stock cube on a medium heat. After 3 mins add the yard long beans and stir well. Turn up the heat and add 2 tbsp. of water and toss the snake beans once more. Cover the pan with a lid and let this steam away on a low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Remove the lid and stir once more before you turn off the heat. The yard long beans will have a deep green color and should remain some of their crunches. If you like it less crunchy simply steam it a bit longer.
Courses side
Cuisine Surinamese
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Suriname
https://theculturetrip.com/south-america/suriname/articles/taste-of-suriname-a-feast-of-cultures/
Meet Nandita: Her cooking is authentic, cultural and often inspired by her Mom’s dishes, those she grew up with and love recreating. Because she believes they left a mark that’s linked with family memories. She also loves using warm spices and creates an explosion of flavors, sometimes cross culture experimental but always comforting and from the soul.
For more recipes or meal ideas please go to her blog: The spiced chickpea.
Hi, im intending on using 6 chicken thighs. Would that mean I have to multiply the recipe by 6???
Seems like a lot of onions and brown beans!
Always trust your instinct when adapting recipes, except for pastries, in that case, you’ll have to be very precise. For this particular recipe, I wouldn’t multiply it by 6. I think 3-4 times would be good depending on if you want this dish to be meat or veggie-heavy. I recommend to well season the chicken thighs with salt. I found that for a thick cut of meat, it’s always a good idea to salt it generously and let the meat sit at least one hour before cooking so the salt can do its magic. I hope your dish turns out tasty!